


A Change of Destiny

by JadedPhoenixBurning



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-09
Updated: 2012-01-09
Packaged: 2017-11-10 07:54:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 69
Words: 149,766
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/463962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadedPhoenixBurning/pseuds/JadedPhoenixBurning
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What would happen if Serena finally decided that she'd had enough?  To move on and no longer allow a past life to rule her current one.  Will the other Scouts be able to find her once she leaves Tokyo? Can she find the Princess within with a little help?  Can the choices that she makes in this life change her future one?  Does she have any choice in this life at all?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Hitting the Road

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's notes:
> 
> The Japanese school year begins in early April, after students have had only one week of vacation from school. The school year is year-long, ending in late March. I had Serena leave Tokyo around late November so she was in the second of three segments of her senior year. Japanese students do have a number of holidays off from school each year. During late July through early September the students get a summer break but return to the same grade rather than how it is here in the USA where students transition to the next grade in the fall. However schooling after the ninth grade is optional. Once you have finished this grade you can start a trade if you'd rather instead of continuing to higher education. Though that is usually only an option for those who are not accepted into high school. In order to attend many high schools, as well as the universities, a student is required to take an entrance exam. Competition to get into high school can be just as fierce as the competition in the west to get into the best colleges. So that would add to Serena's mother's opinion of how her finishing up her diploma is not as important as getting married. Still over all Japan has over a 90% rate of graduates from high school and more than 40% from universities (though more males than females still are the recipients of the degrees).
> 
> Also, it is not as common or acceptable for couples to live together out of wedlock as it has become in other countries. Especially in the upper social levels in Japan. Views on cohabitation are still very strict and old fashioned (in compared to the views of modern western society) despite the western influence over recent years. Morality in general is still held to a very strict standard. In many cases, if a girl cohabitates with a man she would be shunned or even disowned by her family. To have children that are "Shacking up" can be especially an item of shame for the parents of the couple, particularly to the family of the female of the couple who can face belittlement of their own. Much as it once was considered even in the west. For those couples that do live together, whom their families may not really support but have not shunned, it is rarely done so openly as I have Serena and Kyle doing in this story.
> 
> I hope that this has brought some light to this aspect to the story and just why the living arrangements seem to be so much of a surprise to all that learn of it and why it would be such a shock that the parents in such an influential family such as the Garrets are not as appalled as others might be.

A Change of Destiny

Serena Tsukino stared at her reflection as she cried quietly to herself. She was alone in the house, her parents were off on a date night and Sammy was off at a friend's house. Luna was at Rei's as she seemed to be a lot lately. Everyone seemed to stay mad at her for not PULLING HER WEIGHT. Whether it be school, her parents, or her fellow Scouts. Nothing she ever did seemed to be good enough for anyone else. Even Darien seemed to barely be able to hide his contempt for her lack of being able to read his moods.

Serena wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to clear her head. She couldn't avoid the fact that she only seemed to bring grief to those around her. She knew that for the most part that the Scouts mainly tolerated her out of some sense of loyalty to her simply because she embodied the spirit of a long since dead princess. Even with Darien, that seemed to be at the root of any affection that he could bring himself to show her.

"I think everyone would be happier if I just wasn't around," Serena mumbled as she reached for a stuffed bunny on her bed. Suddenly, what Serena herself had just said seemed to take hold on her heart and it seemed to be the only real solution that would end everyone's misery.

Serena stood and started to gather up only what she knew that she needed. Just a couple of changes of clothes and an extra pair of shoes. She then found where she'd been hiding her allowance and holiday money that she'd been saving to buy Darien a present next month. Serena also grabbed her heaviest coat since it was very cold outside. She then wrote a note to tell her parents that she'd be over at Lita's house for the weekend. That means they won't worry about her for a few days at least. Serena thought about leaving the Moon Crystal behind but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Instead she snatched it up and took it with her, though she did leave her communicator under her pillow.

Serena took her small rolling suitcase and duffel bag and left the house. She knew where she was heading. The bus station. Serena was nearly frozen to the core by the time she reached it. Before heading to the ticket counter Serena locked herself in the bathroom to use the crystal to disguise her appearance.

"MOON CRYSTAL! TRANSFORM ME INTO A COLLEGE STUDENT!" Serena called out just before being surrounded by light. When Serena emerged from the ladies room she looked a bit older and had red hair that went mid-way down her back. Satisfied with her appearance, Serena went to the ticket counter and made a purchase for a seat on the next bus to leave Tokyo. It didn't matter much to her just where she went, just so long as she was away from those that she could not be anything but a bother for.

Thinking back to the crystal, Serena began to question the wisdom of taking it with her. She knew that Rei could most likely trace the thing if she really put her mind to it. Looking down at her watch she saw that she had nearly half an hour before her bus pulled out. Serena bolted across the street to a shipping store and figured that she should leave the crystal with one of the others. But which one? Thinking quickly, Serena chose one and put her address on the box from memory. She then ran back to the bus station and found her bus and boarded it. She wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing but it seemed that this was the best choice for all concerned. Darien and the other Sailor Scouts shouldn't be bound by a destiny of someone else's life. Just because she had been a princess in another life didn't make her special in this one. Nor did the fact that she and Darien had loved one another in a past life mean that they were destined in this one. It was time to set the others free to choose their own futures; to help them let go of the past.

/

Monday morning Ami Mizuno sat in homeroom and noticed that as usual Serena was late. Ami sighed. She couldn't count the number of times that Serena was late to class over the years that she had known the bubbly blond. Ami had hoped that considering that graduation was just around the corner that her friend would start to become more responsible.

It was only when homeroom had not only had started but had ended that Ami became concerned. When lunch came and neither Molly, Lita nor Mina had seen Serena yet today Ami had gone from being concerned to being worried.

"Lita," Ami whispered as she pulled her fellow Scout to the side on their way back to class. "Have you seen Serena lately? She never showed up for school today."

"No, not since she ran out on Friday night," Lita said before continuing. "I still say that Luna and Rei were a little harsh on her. Why try to make Serena into something that she isn't?"

"Serena is the Princess. They just think that it's time that she started to act like it," Ami said trying to defend her mentor and friend.

"And since when have you heard of a lot of princesses having to learn to fight? Isn't that what the rest of us are for? To protect her?" Lita said since she was fiercely protective of the girl who had been the first to befriend her after she had long since become an outcast years earlier.

"Yes, of course but we never know where the next attack will come from," Ami said calmly, "We can't always be there to protect her so she needs to know how to defend herself."

"Yeh, well, I don't think that yelling at her is an effective method to teach self-defense. I'll go by her house and check in with her after school. I know that you have your after school classes today," Lita said as she turned to head to class.

/

Lita Kino walked up the front walk up to the Tsukino residence. She couldn't believe that Serena had played hookey today from school. Still, there was a chance that she was actually sick. Lita figured that she should give Serena the benefit of the doubt. She knocked on the door and waited as Serena's mother answered the door.

"Lita? Didn't you get enough of Serena this weekend?" Mrs. Tsukino asked as she wiped her hands on her apron.

"Huh?" Lita asked bewildered.

"You know, I was surprised when we came home and found her note. But I suppose that sometimes a girl's just got to spend some time with her friends," Serena's mother said as she turned back toward the kitchen with Lita in tow. "I will say that I was glad that she remembered to leave a note this time. Serena's not home from school yet but you can go ahead and wait for her in her bedroom."

"Thanks, Mrs. Tsukino." Lita said as she made her way to Serena's room while wondering where her friend has been all weekend.

Once inside, Lita saw that the room seemed to be neatly made; which didn't seem right in itself. The only thing that looked askew was the pillow on the bed which was crooked on the bed. When Lita straightened it she found Serena's communicator turned off. Frowning, Lita switched it on and called to the others.

"Serena! I told you that I..." Rei Hino's voice came over the device in a huff until she realized that it was Lita that was on the view screen. "Lita? What are you doing on Serena's communicator?"

"I think something's wrong," Lita said quietly so that Serena's mother didn't hear her. "Serena's missing."

"Missing?" Mina's voice joined the conversation. "What do you mean missing?"

"She told her folks that she was staying with me over the weekend and she never showed up for school today," Lita explained. "And that's not all, she hid her communicator under her pillow. She's gone and we can't even call her."

"It just figures that Serena would go off and not tell the rest of us where she's going," Rei said angrily as she thought about how many times Serena had caused the rest of them trouble over the years.

"Rei, this is serious. I'm worried," Lita said firmly.

"Alright, meet here at the temple and we'll see if we can trace her. Then we'll haul her butt back and make sure that she doesn't do this again," Rei said with a sigh.

"I'm on my way," Mina said as she signed off. Now she was worried too.

/

Lita, Mina, Ami, Luna and Artemis all waited as Rei consulted the flames. Rei hated to admit it but Serena had long ago learned how to block her from using her physic powers to find her. Instead Rei focused on the Imperium Silver Moon Crystal. Finally, in her mind's eye Rei saw the crystal. It was in a box.

"Lita, have you gone home yet today?" Rei asked as she came out of her trance.

"No," Lita said. "Why?"

"The crystal is telling me that it's there," Rei said sadly.

The four teens and two cats went to Lita's apartment as fast as they could. When they got there they were met by a small box that had been left on Lita's doorstep. Inside the crystal sat alone. There was no note with it but the handwriting on the front of the box was definitely Serena's.

"I don't get it. Where's Serena?" Mina asked in concern.

"From the looks of it, I think Serena has ran away," Ami said not really believing what she was saying.


	2. Getting a Job

When Serena reached the bus's final stop she looked around the station and had been just a bit scared. Now she was in a strange town where she didn't know anyone. The town appeared to be a resort town up in the mountains somewhere. A definate change in scenery, that was for sure. Serena knew that the first thing she needed was a place to stay. The second was a job to pay for it. Serena made her way to a phone booth and thumbed through the phone book and looked for a place to stay. She found a small hotel on the edge of town which she figured would do nicely. The hotels closer to town had to be more expensive. She called and made sure that there was a room available. A nice little old lady answered and Serena had to smile as she spoke to her. She knew that the price of the room was less than it would be here in town but she still blanched at it inwardly. She said that she'd take it and hailed a cab to take her to the small hotel.

Once in her small room Serena fell exhausted on the bed. She'd spent nearly all of her money to pay for the room in advance. So at least she had a roof over her head for the next two weeks. She'd kept a little out for food and was glad that there was a small refrigerator in the room. She could get by on sandwich meat if she needed to. That night Serena was so tired she didn't even change out of her clothes before falling asleep. She knew that she had a lot that she needed to do come the morning to start her new life without all of the ones that she had left behind. She only hoped that she was up to the challenge.

/

The next day Serena asked the woman at the front desk about getting a job in town. She was told that a restaurant in town had an opening so Serena bundled up and headed back to town. Serena was surprised when she got to the restaurant. She'd been expecting a diner type place, not a upscale one that catered to the couples that came to this town as a lover's getaway. Serena sat at one of the empty tables since it was still early in the day and filled out the application. She pulled out her I.D. out of habit and was surprised that the crystal's magic had altered it as well as her own appearance. She was now Serena Torrino. Her I.D. had her at nineteen instead of seventeen. When she finished her application the manager looked it over and commented on just how bare it was.

"Well, to be honest I've just left home hoping for a fresh start," Serena said truthfully. "But if you'll just give me a chance I'll work very hard for you."

The manager eyed Serena then nodded. "We have a position open for a hostess. You'll start our guests' dining experience by greeting them at the door. Seeing to it that they get a table to their liking, things like that. In fact, you can start tonight."

"Oh thank you," Serena said with a lot of enthusiasm. "I appreciate this chance so much."

"Jerry can show you where the uniforms are and you can find one that fits and be here at four to start your shift," The manager said as he stood and left Serena smiling at her good fortune.

/

Darien got home after work and found Luna on his balcony and had been more than just a bit surprised since she rarely just showed up without a purpose.

"Luna? To what do I owe this pleasure?" Darien asked as he let the magical cat in through the glass door.

"Darien, when was the last time that you saw Serena?" Luna asked in a panic.

Darien's brow raised at the question, "Friday afternoon. Why?"

"No one's seen her since Friday," Luna silently chastised herself for losing her charge. "She told her parents that she was staying at Lita's and has up and disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Yes. And what's more, she left her communicator and crystal behind," Luna said to Darien's surprise. "Rei tried to trace her but got nothing."

"I can only sense her when she's in trouble. I haven't picked anything up lately," Darien said as he gazed out of the window. He knew that Serena was upset when he told her that they shouldn't date for a while. But he didn't think that she would just up and run off. He had hoped that she'd be able to take her studies and Scout duties more serious if he wasn't around to distract her. At least until she graduated come the spring.

"Well, we need to find her. Without the crystal she won't be able to transform into Sailor Moon if she gets into trouble," Luna said firmly.

"Don't worry, we'll find her. She couldn't have gone far," Darien said while hoping that he was right.

/

Serena stumbled into her room exhausted after standing on her feet for eight hours straight. She'd never thought that her feet had hurt this much in all of her life. Still, at least the people that she worked with were all pleasant enough. The customers all seemed to be of a high class but Serena was still able to chat some of them up a little. Serena thought about her friends that she'd left behind in Tokyo. She missed them but she knew that it would only be a matter of time before they moved on without her. After all, what did they need her for? The Dark Moon and Negaverse had long since been defeated. The power of Princess Serenity was no longer needed. Serena was just in the way now.

In the first week that Serena had left home, she had kept an eye out to see if anyone had been able to follow in behind her to the small resort town. So far she had yet to see or hear anything that would indicate that the others had come to try to convince her to return home. Then when not only one but three weeks went by Serena reluctantly admitted to herself that she was disappointed. The fact that no one came seemed to only confirm her lack of self-worth where her friends and family were concerned.

Sighing, Serena prepared for bed in the small boarding house that she'd moved to after she'd gotten her first paycheck. The hotel had been nice but it would have taken her whole check every week to remain there. Instead she had to move so that she could afford her groceries as well.

Ironically, Serena felt like she had done precisely what the others had always insisted that she do. Become more mature. Now, away from the others, she was working (and getting there on time) and paying her own bills. She was living life as the adult that she wouldn't officially be for many more months now. Spring was just around the corner which meant that the rest of her friends would be graduating shortly after that. A part of Serena ached to return home but she couldn't avoid the fact that if her friends had wanted her there they would have found a way to come and take her back. Rei would probably enjoy doing so if she had the opportunity to do it while Serena was kicking and screaming.

Climbing into bed, Serena glanced at the stars and sent up a prayer that the rest of the Sailor Scouts were alright. She then closed her eyes and tried to drift off to sleep. Tomorrow promised to be another busy day at the restaurant. The tourists had arrived in droves lately and that was in addition to the folks that seemed to be regulars there as well. Serena smiled as she thought about one of those regulars. He was a young business man that seemed to have business dinners at the restaurant on nearly a nightly basis and when he didn't he still came by to eat alone. He was a tall, dashing man with blond hair. He had the most amazing smile which he seemed to send her way quite often. To Serena, seeing that smile made the aching feet and long hours at the restaurant well worth it. She didn't dare to speak to the blond stranger since she was sure that she'd come off looking like a child if she did. But still, that didn't stop her from looking at him. Or from daydreaming.


	3. Feeling Flirty

Kyle arrived at the restaurant and went to the very familiar podium where the woman that seemed to haunt his every waking hour and stalk him in his dreams could routinely be found. As usual, she had a bright welcoming smile at the ready as he approached. Something that Kyle liked to delude himself into thinking that it was just for him. In the months since she'd first come to town he had not been able to stop thinking about her. After weeks of his sister's prodding, Kyle had decided that today would be the day that he'd ask Serena out on a date. The fact that Serena didn't seem to know exactly who he was only made her all the more attractive to him. She wasn't a gold digger that was looking to get rich quick by landing a wealthy man. She had instead captured his attention just by simply being her pleasant self.

Serena was glad to be able to distract herself from what day it was today. Today would have been the beginning of her final segment of high school. Which meant that in just a few short months she and the rest of the Scouts would be graduating. That is IF they let her graduate. She never had gotten the swing of taking tests. Not in all the long years that Ami had been trying to help tutor her. Serena could know the material but when a test was put in front of her she just completely blanked out. As a result she rarely passed the most important tests which left others with the impression that she was dumb. Serena suspect that by now she was nothing more than a distant memory for all of her former class-mates. Serena had done her best to not think about all that she had missed out on since leaving home today. It was only after she had gotten to work, though, that she had been able to completely push such thoughts aside.

"Mr. Garret, how are you this evening?" Serena asked while taking in the appearance of the man that only seemed to grow more handsome every time that he came into the restaurant.

"I'm doing alright," Kyle said before gathering up his nerve. "But there is one thing that could make the evening even better."

"Oh? And what's that?" Serena asked since one primary job that she had was to make sure that the customers had all that they needed.

"You agreeing to go out with me on your next night off."

Serena's eyes grew wide as she tried to see if this was an extension of the flirtation that they had exchanged for the last couple of months. "Go out with you?"

"That is unless you'd rather not. I just thought that we might could enjoy an evening together," Kyle said while trying to sound as if Serena's answer (one way or the other) would not phase him at all.

"Oh, well, it's not that I wouldn't want to go out with you..." Serena said completely taken a back. This was the last thing that she had expected when she came to work. "But I sort of thought that you were seeing someone. A few weeks ago you were in here with..."

"My sister, Wendy." Kyle said with a smile.

"Oh," Serena said a bit embarrassed. "Well, in that case..." Serena bit her lip then continued, "I'd love to."

/

The Sailor Scouts went running down the alley way as they pursued the mysterious Scout. Tuxedo Mask was on the other end of the alley waiting for them to chase Shadow Moon his way. When they finally blocked Shadow Moon between themselves and their comrade they were certain that they could finally get some answers after having chased this Sailor want-to-be for months.

"Alright, there's no where to go!" Sailor Jupiter shouted out with her adrenaline pumping. "Now where is Sailor Moon?" After months of trying to solve the mystery of where their leader had gone only to have this imposter show up shortly afterwards Lita had drawn the conclusion that the two had to be linked.

"If I knew I wouldn't tell you," Shadow Moon said with a glare. "Shadows! Attack!"

From above the Sailor Scouts other Scouts jumped from the roof tops and landed around the Sailors poised for battle. The Sailors Scouts all stared at mirror images of themselves. Opposite of Sailor Mars was Shadow Mars. An exact copy of her. Long, dark hair; wearing a short red skirt just like her. The same were opposite of Sailor Mercury, Sailor Venus, and Sailor Jupiter. Tuxedo Mask glanced back and forth between the Sailors and their doppelgangers.

"What's going on?" Sailor Venus asked as she took in her own twin.

"You don't really think that we'd put all of the pieces together for you?" Shadow Moon said with a smirk. "Take care of them. I have to go." Shadow Moon spun to leave only to be come face to face with Tuxedo Mask. "Out of my way, Pretty Boy!"

"No chance," Tuxedo Mask said as he flipped his cape over his shoulder to give him a better stance to fight.

"You wouldn't hit a girl now would you? Especially one that could very well be your girlfriend?"

"You are NOT Sailor Moon. But if you've done anything to her then I have NO PROBLEM with hitting you!" Tuxedo Mask said.

Behind Shadow Moon he could see the Sailors and Shadow Scouts engaging in battle. He then launched himself at his own opponent. It soon became obvious that the Shadow Scouts had the exact same strengths as their duplicates. The only difference seemed to be that Shadow Moon didn't have a Moon Crystal of her own. Still, even without the Crystal, Tuxedo Mask was surprised at how powerful the blond was. Just as the other Scouts were surprised when they battled their Shadow copies. Mercury was having a difficult time trying to get in any blows since Shadow Mercury seemed to be able to predict her attacks. The same was true for the rest of the combatants.

It was only once all of the combatants were exhausted that the five Defenders of Light heard, "Shadows, disperse!" The next thing that Tuxedo Mask and the Sailor Scouts knew, they were alone in the alley way. Tired, battered and confused.

"I don't understand, who were those creeps?" Lita said after she and the others transformed back into their every day selves.

"And why did they have our powers?" Mina added as she rubbed her shoulder. Shadow Venus had gotten in a really good blow to Mina's right shoulder so she was likely going to be favoring it for a while.

"Maybe we should all go to the temple to see if we can find anything out," Rei said since she planned to consult the flames just as soon as she got home anyway. She couldn't explain it but somehow she'd convinced herself that this Shadow Moon was just Serena trying to get back at them for pushing her so hard before she disappeared. Now that these other Shadow Scouts have appeared she wasn't sure what she should think.

"I think that is a good idea," Luna agreed. "Then Artemis and I will try to see if we can find anything else out from Central."

The Scouts and the felines all headed off toward the end of the alley way but Ami noticed that Darien (Who had yet to change out of his alter ego) was staring off in the direction that they assumed that the Shadows had gone. "Darien? Are you coming too?"

"No," Darien said softly. "Just let me know if you learn anything." Tuxedo Mask then leapt up to head home by the way of the rooftops.

Ami silently sighed then followed the others to the temple that Rei had lived at for nearly half of her life. She and the others had hoped that their missing leader would have returned by now. Instead one of the most important time of their lives was shadowed by their anguish over Serena's absence and what appeared to be the arrival of a new enemy.

/

When Serena made her way up to her forth floor walk up to the small room that she was renting at the boarding house she had a bit of a lighter spring in her step. She and Kyle had agreed to go out on her next night off. Next Tuesday evening. Kyle Garret would surprise her that night as to where they would go. She looked forward to the date immensely. Serena opened her door and slipped into her room still feeling like she was floating on air. She never had thought that she would be going out with such a handsome and kind (not to mention wealthy) man like Kyle Garret. This type of anticipation was something that she hadn't been able to experience with Darien. They had gone straight from not being able to stand the sight of one another to acting as if they'd been together for a millennia. Which in a sense they had been. She couldn't remember a time where Darien had tried to impress her as Kyle seemed to try to do tonight as he spoke with her about their upcoming date. And what's more, Serena knew that Kyle wanted to date her for her. Not because of her alter ego or her past life.

Serena shook her thoughts of everything that reminded her of the life that she'd left behind. She knew that she'll need to get a new outfit for the date. Most of her clothes were strictly sensible since she had only brought warm clothes with her when she had left home. Serena had bought a few outfits to lounge around in or do her daily marketing it but nothing suitable for a nice date. She was glad that she'd been frugal with her earnings from the restaurant. That way she would have enough to buy something that she could feel good about without feeling like she'd embarrassed Kyle while they were out. Serena drifted off to sleep with a smile on her lips as she was barely able to wait till next Tuesday night. She felt as if everything was going so perfect. If she had been back in Tokyo she'd be waiting for something to come and take this happiness away from her. Instead she felt certain that nothing couldn't threaten her new life.


	4. First Date Jitters

Serena practically jumped at the knock on her door. That knock signaled that her date, Kyle Garret, was here to pick her up for their date. Serena glanced out the window at the down pour of rain that was coming down outside. Smiling, Serena wasn't about to let the weather dampen her spirits today. Quickly, she checked herself in the mirror before going to the door to open it for Kyle. When Serena opened the door Kyle took in her appearance appreciatively. She'd decided to buy a simple sleeveless black dress since she had no idea what Kyle had planned for tonight. It was similar to the ones that Serena had seen women wear to the restaurant though she was sure that it didn't cost nearly as much as the ones that those women wore.

"Hi," Serena said nervously as she sensed Kyle's evaluation of her attire.

"Hi," Kyle returned with a smile. "You know, when you said that you were on the forth floor, I some how missed that it was a walk up," Kyle chuckled while trying to break the initial awkwardness of the moment.

"Oh NO! I should have warned you," Serena groaned. She hadn't thought that it was important when she gave Kyle directions to where she was living at when they planned their date.

"Forget it, it's good for me to get my butt up and climb some stairs every once in a while," Kyle said with a laugh. He found the way that Serena's cheeks flushed with embarrassment adorable. "Now I hope that you won't be disappointed with a plain, ordinary dinner and a movie. I had planned a picnic but I didn't think that you'd want to go in weather like this."

Serena giggled a bit at the idea of a picnic in the rain, "Dinner sounds good."

"Excellent. Let's head on down then. I made reservations at a restaurant across town. I figured that it wouldn't be a treat to go to the same one that you work at on your night off," Kyle teased as he helped Serena with her jacket that she'd bought to match her dress for the cool mountain evenings. He then walked her down the four flights of stairs to the waiting car outside. Kyle hoped that this would be only the first of many nights together.

/

Luna sat and listened to the Scouts tell her of their latest encounter with the Shadow Scouts intently. Nodding, Luna spoke up once they were done. "I spoke with Central about the Shadows. It's possible that their appearances have something to do with a dimensional rift that was opened right after Sailor Moon disappeared."

"What kind of dimensional rift?" Ami asked.

"They aren't quite sure yet," Artemis said from his place beside his feline companion.

"So how are we supposed to defeat them if they don't know where the Shadows came from?" Lita asked with a stubborn set to her jaw.

"For right now you'll just have to keep doing what you've been doing. Hopefully between you four and Darien we'll be able to keep them from completing what ever mission they are here to perform," Luna sighed.

Shortly afterwards, Luna began to head back to the Tsukino residence out of habit. Some part of her hoped that she'd go back and find Serena in her room. Just like always. Ready to yak her ear off about one thing or another. Staying up late only to need to be jolted awake come the morning to prevent her from being late for the day. Each night she would crawl up on Serena's pillow and wish that her charge would return to the fold on her own. She had spent many of nights thinking over her teaching methods that she'd used to try to mold Serena into the princess that she knew her to be. Luna asked herself how she could have missed that Serena was so miserable. Enough to cause her to abandon her destiny and run away. If given the chance Luna vowed that she'd make things different.

At the house, Luna would watch day after day as Serena's parents tried to go on from day to day while they began to lose hope of finding their missing daughter. They had posted flyers all over town when Serena first went missing but now with it being so many months of no word at all they seemed to have accepted that their daughter didn't want to be found. With Serena's absence so left the joy of the household as well. Even her brother, Sammy, no longer seemed to be as carefree with the bubbly blond gone.

The only solace that Luna had was that Sailor Pluto, while refusing to reveal where the princess was, told her that Serena was safe and even seemed happy. That knowledge was better than nothing but she still wished that she could find the young woman. Especially now that it seemed that the Scouts needed her to fight this new evil threat.

/

"So, are you going to tell me more about you?" Kyle asked as he stared into Serena's eyes from across the small table for two. "Where did you live before you showed up in town?"

"I...uh..." Serena glanced down at the table not really wanting to talk about her past. "I lived in Tokyo."

"Really?" Kyle asked since his family had offices in the city. "How did you come here of all places then?"

"Kyle, I decided that I wanted to get away from some people that I knew in Tokyo so I just chose a bus at random when I left," Serena said truthfully since she hoped that she'd be able to head off too many other questions. "But I don't want to talk about why I left Tokyo tonight."

"Alright, fair enough," Kyle said as he placed a hand over hers. "But I sure am glad that out of all of the buses that you could have hopped on that you chose the one that would bring you here."

"I am too," Serena said with a smile.

The rest of the night passed with the couple getting to know one another. All too soon, though, the evening came to a close. Serena and Kyle joked and laughed all the way up to the forth floor room that Serena lived in. They'd had a wonderful evening and Serena was a little sad to see it end. When they got to her door she gazed up at Kyle a bit nervously. Though only for a moment before he leaned in to give her slow, soft kiss. She remained at her door after he left and headed back down the stairs for nearly five whole minutes. With a dreamy look on her face Serena went inside her room and hurried off to her dreams that would continue the night where a small part of her kind of wished the night would have led to.

/

Shadow Moon frowned as she crossed her arms. She'd been all over Tokyo and hadn't had anymore luck with finding Sailor Moon than her friends had. The Shadows had been sent to find the Imperium Silver Moon Crystal. They needed it to take Queen Beryl's kingdom from her. It was their only chance to be able to combat the crystal in the other woman's possession. Shadow Moon had been told that it should be found with her counterpart. So far, though, there had been no sight of her. Fortunately, the other Sailors didn't seem to know where the Scout and her crystal were at either. That made it more difficult for the Sailors to vanquish the Shadows. Only Sailor Moon can return them to their own dimension.

"I thought that you would be able to trace the Sailor Brat," Shadow Mars said with scowl. "After all, we can find the others anytime that we want." Mars smirked when she saw the look that crossed her leader's face.

"She has the crystal, the others don't," Shadow Moon shot back. "The crystal must be hiding her location. Otherwise I'd be able to find her anywhere in a hundred mile radius."

"Sure, you say that now. I'll believe you when you actually FIND her though," Shadow Mars said as she spun on her heels to leave her princess where she was watching the city from the top of a building in the business district of Tokyo. "I just hope that when the brat is found Shadow Moon can defeat her. We need that crystal."


	5. Turning the World Upside Down

Serena waltzed into work the next night feeling lighter than air. She hummed to herself as she got ready for her shift to begin and was stopped by one of the women that worked as a waitress in the restaurant.

"Serena, rumor has it that you went out with Kyle Garret last night. Is that true?" Misty asked as she leaned in to speak in whispers to her coworker in private.

"Well, actually it is. Why?" Serena asked with a smile.

"You have GOT to be kidding!" Misty exclaimed. "You went out with KYLE GARRET? Do you have ANY idea just who he is?"

"Look, I know that going out with a customer may not be a very good idea but I had fun last night," Serena said defending her actions.

"A CUSTOMER? Oh no. You really DON'T know who the Garrets are," Misty said with a bit of laughter. "The Garrets own more than HALF of this town. Including this restaurant. You went out with the owner's son!"

Serena's jaw dropped a bit at the revelation. She knew that Kyle must have a bit of money but she hadn't expected anything like what Misty had just told her. She couldn't help but wonder just why someone like Kyle would want to date her when he had his choice of nearly anyone else around. Still, the fact that he HAD chosen her made Serena feel more special than she had in a long time.

/

In Beryl's throne room she gazed worriedly into her crystal ball as she searched for any evidence of the Evil Shadow Scouts that had been trying to invade her kingdom for over a millennia. It worried her that she had not seen or heard from them in months. To the Queen, that meant that they were up to something big.

When Beryl heard footsteps, she looked up to find her most trusted advisor, Kunzite, making his way into the throne room.

"Any trace of them yet?" Queen Beryl asked in anticipation.

"I'm afraid not Your Majesty. We've searched all over the kingdom as well as on Earth but we haven't been able to find a single trace of them." Kunzite said as he swept his silver cape behind him. "Nephrite is consulting the stars as well but so far they remain silent on the locations of our enemies."

"Keep trying to find them, Kunzite. We must not allow them to be set loose uninhibited on the galaxy."

"Yes, My Queen." Kunzite said as he bowed before his Queen. He prayed that they would be able to find the Shadow Scouts before they did something horrible. He couldn't bare the thought of Shadow Moon and her Shadow Scouts taking out their revenge against the Light Kingdom by attacking innocents on the Earth. Simply for bringing an end to their evil reign on the Moon years ago.

/

Shadow Moon snuck into the Tsukino residence to snoop around in the room of the missing Sailor Scout. She hoped that perhaps the Moon Crystal had been left behind when the Scout ran away. After all, if she was running away from her life as a Scout she wouldn't really need it, would she?

On the bed sat a cat that looked very much like the annoying feline that she'd left behind in her own dimension. The black cat was fast asleep and Shadow Moon planned to keep it that way. Like the Shadow that she'd been trained to emulate, Shadow Moon moved around stealthily in the darkened room. Frowning, she wondered if there was some other place in the house that her duplicate would hide the valuable crystal. Silently, Shadow Moon slipped out into the hall. She was nearly to the stairs when Serena's younger brother, Sammy, came out of his room on his way to the bathroom.

"Sailor Moon?" Sammy asked since he'd been a fan of the heroine since he was little. Now as a teen he'd admit that he has always had a little crush on her. "What are you doing in my house?"

"Beat it kid. This ain't none of your business," Shadow Moon said as she scowled at the adolescent teen.

Sammy scrunched his face. That didn't sound like the Sailor Moon that he's followed in the news and even met once before when he was younger. Something wasn't right.

"You can't be Sailor Moon," Sammy said as he started to back up towards the other end of the hall. "Who are you?"

"Like I said, Kid. It's none of your business." Shadow Moon released a bit of dark energy which sent Sammy back up against the door of Serena's door. That woke Luna up and she had just gotten to the hall in time to see the imposter Scout leave by way of the front door. Fortunately, Sammy was only knocked out. Not really hurt. He later woke up thinking that he'd been sleep walking.

After Luna told the Scouts of Shadow Moon's appearance at Serena's house they all began to suspect that the Sailor Moon look-a-like just might be looking for the moon crystal. Lita had been watching over it ever since Serena had left it in her care nearly six months ago. Now they felt that perhaps that it should be moved to a safer location than her apartment. If the Shadows went to their missing leader's home then it would only be a matter of time before the Shadows searched the other Scouts' own homes as well. Luna and Artemis was able to convince Sailor Pluto to keep the magical talisman safe until it could be returned to it's guardian. Luna and all of the Scouts hoped that the time would be sooner rather than later.

/

When Serena got off of work Kyle Garret was waiting for her outside. On the inside she was practically giddy when she saw him but at the same time she still couldn't believe that he'd taken an interest in her. Serena smiled as she approached the man that she'd been able to kiss only a day ago.

"It's a little late for you to be here isn't it?" Serena said with a laugh.

"I just figured that I'd save you a walk to the bus stop. Walking up four flights of stairs is enough after standing on your feet all day," Kyle said as he opened the passenger's door for the red head. "How you manage that trek up to your room every night after work and walking from the bus stop I'll never know."

"You get used to it." Serena said as she took her place in the car.

"I wouldn't. I'd rather work up a sweat doing something other than climbing stairs," Kyle said before he realized that what he had said could be inferred as a lewd comment. Especially after he saw Serena blush. "That's what the gym is for," Kyle added to try to redeem himself. "So, how about while I drive you home you tell me how your night went after I left."

"Oh, you mean you want to hear about how the fact that the two of us went out last night was the biggest bit of gossip in the whole place?" Serena asked with a smirk.

"How did anyone know?"

"Misty's sister works at the restaurant that we went to last night. From there word traveled very fast," Serena said with a hint of humor on her lips. "You should have seen her when she asked me if it was true." Serena decided to leave out the fact that Misty had also told her of Kyle's position with the upper-class in town. If the fact that he was out of her league didn't bother him then she wasn't about to let it bother her.

"I think I can imagine." Kyle said as he joined in Serena's laughter. That was one thing that he loved about Serena. She just COULDN'T laugh without causing him to join in. "Well, what do you say that we help the rumor mill along a bit?"

"Depends, what do you have in mind?" Serena asked as she slid over in the seat to get just a little bit closer to the man behind the wheel. It was all innocent. She just loved being as close to Kyle as she could.

"Well, it's really just a small thing but you KNOW how no one will believe the truth anyway."

"I'm not sure I'm following you." Serena said confused.

"I'm having to head into Tokyo next week..." Kyle paused as he felt Serena stiffen beside him. He'd thought about asking her if she wanted to go with him but changed his mind when he noticed Serena's reaction to the name of the city. Things must have been worse for her there than he thought. Instead he asked, "I usually try to find someone to stay in my apartment while I'm gone to watch after Brutus."

"Brutus?" Serena asked as she tilted her head to look up at Kyle.

"My German Shepard."

"A dog?" Serena furled her brows. "I don't know. I've always been more of a cat person."

"You're kidding. Cats are pretty self-centered. They let you know real quick that they don't really need you. They can take you or leave you. It doesn't matter to them," Kyle said with a smile. "DOGS on the other hand, they love you unconditionally. Even if the whole world is against you a dog will have your back. And if you've had a bad day a dog will sit there and listen to you without you having to really worry about him telling anyone what you've said."

Serena giggled at the comparisons between cats and dogs. "Talk to your dog often, do you?"

"Depends, you ever talk to your cat?" Kyle replied.

Serena sighed a bit, "All of the time."

"Me too," Kyle confessed. "So, you want to watch the town go all a buzz at you coming and going as you please at my place?"

"It sounds like fun," Serena said as she moved past her momentary lapse of home-sickness. "Though I'm not sure that Brutus will like me very well."

"He'll love you," Kyle said as he put his hand over Serena's. "He has good taste in women."


	6. Enter in Brutus

Darien collapsed into the chair in his apartment, exhausted. Every night was just like the night before the last one. Spent balancing his search for his girlfriend and battling the Shadow Scouts. Tonight Shadow Moon had been able to beat him. She'd played on her close resemblance to Sailor Moon and used it to her advantage. When he saw the scout laying prone on the ground surrounded by the others he'd been certain that the Shadows had Sailor Moon cornered. Instead they had lured him in so that they could search him. From what he understood from Luna the Shadows must have thought that HE had the crystal. When they learned that he didn't have it on him he was then left to face five angry, powerful, young women. In the end he'd even been forced to call to the Sailor Scouts to come and help him. If there was one thing that Darien hated to do, it was to admit that he needed help. But tonight he definitely needed it.

Sighing, Darien picked up the picture of Serena and him in the park that he kept on the table beside the chair. "Serena, let me know where you are. I can't do this alone."

Darien gazed at the photo and concentrated on Serena's eyes. They were always filled with so much emotion. No matter if she was laughing, smiling, crying or even if she was mad. It was always right there in her eyes. Then how was is that he didn't see how depressed Serena had become? He must have missed a lot if she had gotten to the point where she just had to up and walk away. He had always been able to tell when she was in danger from the enemy. How come he didn't sense that Serena felt boxed in?

Holding the picture close to him Darien cried out her name with all the anguish of the last several months.

/

'SE-REN-A!'

Serena stirred in her sleep. She'd almost swear that someone had called out her name. Glancing over toward Brutus in his dog bed she saw that the silver and black german shepherd hadn't stirred. Serena figured that she must have been dreaming. Serena turned over and looked out of the window as she tried to go back to sleep. It should have been easy since she'd never been in a more comfortable bed before. Still, something was bothering her. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but something just didn't feel right.

Maybe it was her sense of duty nagging at her. She'd been wondering how the scouts had been doing without her since she'd been gone. She'd been wrestling with the idea of calling them. Asking them how things were. Serena flipped her pillow and tried to get comfortable again as she thought about her friends and comrades that she'd left behind her when she left Tokyo. That movement caught Brutus's attention which caused him to perk up and whine from his place on the floor.

"It's alright, boy. Go back to sleep." Serena told the dog that weighed more than she did. A few moments later she felt the bed shift as the dog jumped up into the bed to join her and snuggled in close to her. Serena smiled and turned over and hugged the over-grown puppy. Some how she thought that Brutus wasn't really supposed to be up on the bed but she'd let him crawl up with her a couple times this past week already. One more night wouldn't hurt none.

/

A few weeks later the Scouts were all meeting at Lita's apartment discussing the latest movements of the Shadow Scouts. They had yet to get the upper hand on them. Something that irritated all of the Sailor Scouts.

"Maybe we've been fighting the Shadows all wrong," Ami said as she looked up from wrapping Mina's ankle for her.

"What do you mean?" Mina asked from her place on the couch.

"Well, why are we so intent on fighting our own copies? It seems to me that it'd be best if we changed things up a little. Like I'm sure that if Mars and I switched opponents the Shadows for one wouldn't expect it. For another, ice can't vanquish ice..."

"But Fire can," Rei finished Ami's sentence. "Why didn't we think about this before now? We're getting no where with trying to battle ourselves."

"And it'll be more practical to practice fighting each other than train to fight against ourselves, too," Lita added.

"It can't be any worse than the way we've been doing things. But what about Shadow Moon? We still can't really fight her while worrying about the others." Mina said as she glanced out toward the window. "I mean, Tuxedo Mask has been helping but..." Mina trailed off since she didn't want to say aloud that he wasn't really an equal match to the dark version of Sailor Moon.

"We'll just have to do the best we can," Rei said with a shrug. "At least for now."

/

It'd been months since Serena and Kyle had first started to date. From the very first night that Kyle waited for Serena to finish her shift he continued to take her home so that she wouldn't have to wait for the bus and walk to and from the stop in the dead of night. Kyle considered it a great way to end the day. During the day he'd do what was expected of him with helping to manage the family enterprise and continue with his own studies but the nights were his own. And he chose to spend them with the woman with an infectious laugh and a smile that lit up the room.

Tonight was Serena's night off so he was able to spend the whole evening with her. They'd gone back to his apartment and had decided to throw in a couple of movies and just relax for the evening. When Kyle had gotten up to change the movie out Brutus was quick to take the opportunity to take his place on the couch beside of Serena.

"BRUTUS! Down," Kyle said when he turned and found the dog on the couch. Instead of listening the dog whined and put is head in Serena's lap.

"I don't think he wants to," Serena said with a laugh.

"You know, in the last few months he's gotten awfully spoiled," Kyle began to push the dog back off of the couch.

"Really?" Serena started to laugh as Kyle battled with the dog for the spot on the couch. "I hadn't noticed."

"I wonder why," Kyle stated sarcastically as he finally got Brutus off of the couch. "You know he USED to listen to me." Serena just smiled since she knew that she very well had likely been the one to spoil the dog rotten. "And you think that it's funny that my own dog won't do what I tell him to do anymore."

"In a way," Serena snickered and shifted on the couch after Kyle sat back down with her. "Besides, I'm not sure we have enough time to watch another movie. I need to head home soon anyway." Serena leaned closer into Kyle's arms as he wrapped them around her once he had gotten comfortable yet again on the couch.

Kyle looked down at Serena where she was curled up next to him and thought for a moment before speaking, "You could always stay, instead."

Serena looked up and stared up into Kyle's eyes and searched them before leaning up to give him a kiss. "Then I will."


	7. General Distrust

Serena shifted in her sleep and felt an arm tighten around her waist. Serena felt a smile on her lips as she snuggled in closer to Kyle. Through her closed eye lids she could tell that the sun was up but she didn't feel like getting up yet. Serena, instead, just luxuriated in being able to just lay in bed with the man that she loved. It was only when she felt Kyle move then bolt upright that she opened her eyes.

"Something wrong?" Serena asked as she sat up, using the blanket to keep herself covered.

"I'm late. I had a meeting that was supposed to start an hour ago," Kyle said as he rushed to grab some clothes from his closet.

"Oh no!" Serena said as she was amazed at how quickly Kyle was able to get ready for the day. In fact, he reminded her of all of the mornings that she herself would have to rush out the door for school. "I think I'm rubbing off on you. I'm notorious for being late in the mornings."

"Well I don't mind if you are. I'll just have to stop planning meetings first thing in the mornings," Kyle said as he dipped his head down to give Serena a kiss. "I have to go, I'll see ya later."

With that Kyle rushed out of the apartment, leaving Serena behind to giggle in his wake.

/

Ami finished her paper and saved it on her computer. Her mother had been surprised when she had decided to stay in the area to start college rather than study abroad as she had dreamed of doing for years; ever since she had first decided to become a doctor. Ami had no trouble with being accepted into the Pre-Med program at the local college. Not that she had expected any. Still, she felt guilty that she hadn't been able to tell her mother the real reason why she was staying in town.

When her communicator went off she sighed and grabbed it up. It was time to fight off the Shadows once again. It seemed that the Shadow Scouts rarely were quiet for long. Ami quickly transformed into Sailor Mercury and raced toward the battle that was already in full-swing. Sailor Mercury barely acknowledged the other Sailors as she joined them in their fight. Mercury faced off with Shadow Mars and used her Mercury Aqua Rhapsody attack but was canceled out by Shadow Mar's version of Burning Mandala. She was about to redouble her efforts when a blast of power shot past her and hit Shadow Mars.

Glancing behind her, Mercury saw what LOOKED like Jadeite poised for an attack. Mercury watched as the General began to attack the Shadow Scout and couldn't help but feel as if she was experiencing a serious case of déjà vu. After all, it had been Sailor Mars that had battled the man in their last confrontation years ago. A confrontation that Mars had won. Something that she instinctively knew couldn't be allowed to happen again. Shaking off the feeling of just how wrong it felt to aide the General in battle. With the help of Jadeite, the Shadows were quick to retreat. Leaving the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask to face the image of their former enemy.

"How is this possible?" Mercury asked as she eyed the blond man who had appeared out of no where.

"Why did you help us?" Mars asked suspiciously. She, too, couldn't help but remember the last time she had faced Queen Beryl's General.

"You were fighting the Shadows. It was the obvious choice to help you," Jadeite said as if that alone should explain his motives.

"Yes, but why do YOU fight the Shadows?" Jupiter asked from her place between Venus and Tuxedo Mask.

"Because they are a threat to everything that is good. For a millennia they have been trying to take over the Light Kingdom," Jadeite said then went on to explain of how he had been trying to track the Shadow Scouts for several months. Every since Shadow Moon's plot to steal Queen Beryl's Imperium Silver Moon Crystal had failed.

Shadow Moon had been trying to avenge her mother for being passed over for the Crown. Instead, Beryl became the Queen rather than her sister. The elite council that had been charged with the coronation of the new heir had found Serenity too heavy handed to become the ruler of the Moon. So the throne was then passed to her more gentler sister, Beryl. The kingdom had then erupted into civil war. Pitting the followers of the two sisters against one another.

It was when Jadeite came across dimensional rift that he considered that the Shadows had gone in search of the crystal in a parallel universe. So with his Queen's permission he had crossed the dimensional barrier and immediately sensed the Shadow Scouts fighting against the Sailor Scouts. It was then that he knew that his suspicion was correct.

"It seems so strange to think that things can be so different," Venus said as she took in the implications of what Jadeite had said.

"I should return to inform Queen Beryl of this latest development," Jadeite turned as if to leave. "There is one thing that I must ask. Obviously the Shadows have yet to find the crystal. Is it safe?" He asked, not expecting them to tell him where it was so he asked what he figured he could get an answer for."

"It is," Luna said after she contemplated the question. "But that is all I will reveal about the crystal."

"I wouldn't expect anything else," Jadeite said with a nod. "I will return as soon as I can. We must work together to prevent the Shadows from succeeding in their mission. Both of our worlds may depend on it." With that Jadeite vanished before them.

/

Wendy Garret smiled as she watched her brother's girlfriend approach her. She'd arranged to meet her for lunch in town today. She could see why Kyle had seemed happier than he ever had. In the months that they had been seeing one another Wendy had watched as they grew closer than Kyle had ever been to another woman.

"Serena, I was hoping to talk to you."

"Really? Why?" Serena asked with a smile to hide her nervousness. She couldn't help it. Any time that she was around the rest of the Garrets she became very self-conscious.

"Well, I was going to ask you if you planned to join the family this weekend up at the chateau," Wendy asked grinning. She knew that if Kyle was wanting her to come and meet the whole family then Serena and he must be much closer than even Wendy had suspected.

"I don't know..." Serena bit her lip. She wasn't sure if she wanted to spend her birthday meeting the rest of Kyle's family. Of course she hadn't told him that her birthday was coming up. "It sounds like a family affair. I wouldn't want to intrude."

"You wouldn't be intruding," Wendy assured as she put her arms around Serena and steered her toward the diner. "Besides, if you don't come Kyle will be impossible to deal with."

"I think he could manage a few days," Serena said with a smile.

"Oh really?" Wendy asked with a raised eye-brow. "You haven't seen him when he's in Tokyo lately," Wendy said with a laugh. "The last time he was plum pathetic. I heard him asking his secretary once to read back the minutes to a meeting. I think he'd been daydreaming the whole time and didn't have a clue what had been discussed."

"You're kidding!" Serena said with a blush knowing that she'd been the reason for Kyle's distraction.

"Nope, so why don't you just agree to come with the family so he won't be wishing that he was here with you the whole time?" Wendy asked as she and Serena sat at a table.

"Are you sure no one would mind me being there?"

"Positive," Wendy replied.

"In that case, how can say no?" Serena said with a laugh.


	8. A Proposal

Serena glanced in the mirror and checked herself as she waited for Kyle to come and pick her up for the weekend away with his family. She had her bag packed but was still nervous about meeting the rest of Kyle's family. True, Wendy was nice enough. She even seemed to like Serena. Still, the Garrets were the most influential, not to mention wealthiest, family in the area.

"Princess Serena, we need to talk."

Serena's head jolted at hearing her name. In the mirror now was the image of Sailor Pluto. "What are you doing here?"

"I must speak with you. The future depends on it," Pluto said from her place where Serena's reflection should have been.

"You have to get out of here. And I'm making my OWN future now!" Serena hissed as she glanced out the window and saw that Kyle had just pulled up outside of the boarding house.

"Princess, I..."

"Stop calling me that! I'm NOT the Princess anymore! And I'm not Sailor Moon, either!" Serena said as she began to gather up her belongings.

"Being the Princess is your destiny. You can not change that," Pluto said sadly. She had waited as long as she dared but she could see the future was being altered. Something was happening to change what must be. So despite her vow to not interfere, Pluto had finally taken it upon herself to try to convince the Princess to return to join the other Scouts.

"I can sure try!" Serena then walked out of her room and started down the stairs. Figuring that she'd meet Kyle along the way. She couldn't believe that Pluto would try to guilt her into going back to where she wasn't really wanted, much less needed, anymore. The Scouts were better off without her. And she was DEFINITELY better off without them right now.

"Well?" Luna asked expectantly, "Did you talk to her?"

Pluto lowered her head and sighed, "The Princess refused to speak. I'm sorry Luna."

"Then tell me where she is and I'll go talk to her. We NEED Sailor Moon!" Luna said with her tail twitching. "The Scouts don't trust working with the Generals and I'm not sure I blame them after all that they had been through before."

"You know that I can't do that. But she will return to Tokyo in the near future. I do see that," Pluto said as she activated the Time Gates to signal that it was time for Luna to leave the Sanctuary that was Pluto's realm.

"She will?" Luna asked hopefully. "To return to the Scouts?"

"That is a question that I can not answer," Pluto said before adding, "For now."

"You've been quiet," Kyle said as he shifted the gears as he drove through the mountains.

"I've just been thinking," Serena said with sigh.

"What about?"

"Kyle, with going to see your family and all I guess I've just been thinking about my own," Serena said as she leaned against Kyle in the car.

"You never talk about your family. I've always just assumed that you didn't want to," Kyle said softly.

"I haven't, and I don't," Serena said as she thought back to what she had considered to be her extended family; her friends and comrades. "It just seems like there is a lot that I've never told you about me."

"Like today being your birthday?"

"How did you know that?" Serena asked as she sat up.

"I took a peek at your employment application," Kyle grinned.

"Well then I suppose that I should confess, I added a couple of years to my age. I was afraid that no one would hire me if they only thought that I was seventeen." Serena said. "When I came to town I'd just left home."

"Why did you leave home?" Kyle asked as he pulled Serena back up against him.

"I just felt like I couldn't be what everyone that I knew expected me to be anymore," Serena said softly as she felt a lone tear streak down her cheek. "Not for my parents, my friends, not even for my b..." Serena let the last part trail off, leaving the words lost on her lips.

"Your boyfriend," Kyle finished for her. How could anyone take such a pure heart like Serena's and make her doubt her own self worth? "Serena, if the others couldn't accept you for who you are, if they felt that you needed to be changed, then that is their loss."

"I'm not so sure that they would agree with you," Serena said weakly.

"Then they'd be wrong," Came the matter of fact reply. "Let's stop for some lunch," Kyle said trying to change the subject so that Serena could pull herself back together before they made it to their rendezvous with his family.

Serena smiled at Kyle's statement, "That sounds good." Serena swallowed the lump that had formed as she heard Kyle speak. "I'm starved."

Once at the small roadside diner Kyle and Serena ordered a couple of burgers and chatted as they ate. Kyle gave Serena the run down of various relatives. He told her which ones were eccentric and how to win the others over. He then told her that the only relative that she would really have to watch out for was his Uncle Calvin. He was suspicious of newcomers. Calvin was always on the look out for gold-diggers.

"Fortunately, Wendy has already told him that he didn't have anything to worry about with you," Kyle said with smile. "She doesn't normally take to folks as easily as she has to you."

"She's been really sweet," Serena said while thinking about Kyle's older sister. "Has she always watched over you like a mother hen?"

"ALWAYS!" Kyle said with a laugh. "When I was baby she carried me around constantly. I don't think my parents even got to hold me unless she was asleep."

Serena had to laugh at the image of Kyle being babied by his older sister. "Let me guess, she dressed you up in her doll's clothes. Complete with a bonnet."

"Who told?" Kyle asked with a chuckle.

"I'll have to ask if your parents have any pictures of that," Serena said through the mirth.

"Don't you dare," Kyle teased. "Otherwise you'll be cooped up all weekend looking at my grandmother's vacation pictures too. And half of them have a thumb in them."

Serena giggled and smiled but made no promises. Kyle loved that smile. He could lose himself in that smile. Seeing that Serena was in a better mood than she had been in the car he reached into his pocket and pulled out a large jewelry box. He then put it on the table and slid it across to Serena.

"What's this?" Serena asked as she eyed the rectangular box.

"Your birthday present," Kyle said with a sly grin, "Open it."

Serena tentatively picked up the box and opened it. Inside the box was a beautiful gold necklace with an intricately cut diamond solitaire. "It's gorgeous!"

"I had a hard time trying to find something that was just right," Kyle said as he stood and helped Serena put the necklace on.

"It's perfect." Serena said as she took out her compact so that she could see how the diamond looked on her.

"Not quite," Kyle said as he sat back down. "You see, that necklace is part of a set." Kyle reached into his other pocket and pulled another box that was smaller than the first one had been. "It would look even better if you'd wear this with it."

Serena's eyes grew wide when she saw the ring box. When Kyle opened it she could see that the ring's diamond was cut in the same fashion as the one on the necklace. "Is that..."

"It is. Serena, when I introduce you to the family I want to tell everyone that you're the woman that I'm going to marry." Kyle took Serena's hand and held it as he spoke, "Serena, will you marry me?"

Darien walked into his apartment and tossed his jacket as he collapsed onto his couch. It had been a long day at work and he was tired. He figured that he'd rest here for a few minutes before he checked in with the Sailor Scouts to find out if anything had happened while he was working. It was only when he heard glass breaking that he noticed that his jacket had knocked the photograph of him and Serena over and off of the side table where he had kept it. Now the frame was broken.

Darien stood up and picked up the picture. When he did he cut his hand on the broken glass. Pulling his hand back, Darien went over to the kitchen to wrap his bleeding hand in a towel. He cursed to himself for being careless. He then went to salvage the photo only to see that he'd bled all over it, ruining the picture.

Sighing, Darien tried to clean up the mess. "Serena, I hope that where ever you are right now that you're alright. Happy birthday."


	9. Secrets Revealed

Serena gazed at the ring for a whole minute before responding to Kyle's question. "Before I give you an answer, there are a few more things that I think that you need to know about. You may not feel the same way about me after I'm done."

"Somehow I doubt that," Kyle said. This wasn't exactly the reaction that he'd been hoping for.

"We'll see about that," Serena let out a sigh. She glanced around the small diner and knew that she couldn't speak with Kyle here. Not about what she needed to talk with him about at least. "Maybe we should go somewhere a bit more private."

"Alright," Kyle said warily. "I'll go pay the check and we can leave."

Serena bit her lip as she waited for Kyle to return. She wasn't sure if what she was doing was the right thing or not. After all, she hoped that what she was about to tell Kyle was a part of her past. Kyle was her future; she hoped. Still, there were no guarantees. After all, wasn't it just this morning that Sailor Pluto had appeared right out of no where into her mirror? What would have happened if Kyle had shown up just five minutes earlier? What would he have said? No, she needed to tell him about the Sailor Scouts. After all, that had been a major part of why she had left Tokyo in the first place.

When the two had gotten into the car Serena suggest that they should find a place to park along-side of the road but Kyle was insistent that if she had something to say that she should go ahead and say it.

"Well, it has a lot to do with why I left Tokyo."

Kyle eyed her out of the corner of his eye. He knew that she'd had a boyfriend back there so he just said the first thing that came to his mind. "What, you can't marry me because you're already engaged? A runaway bride?"

"Not quite," Serena said with a slight laugh. "This is kind of strange trying to find the right words to say it. I mean, I've hidden this secret for so long... But now to actually tell it …"

"A secret?" That peaked Kyle's interest.

"You've been going to and from Tokyo for many years, right?" Serena asked so she could see just how much about her alter ego he knew about already.

"Off and on, yes. Why?"

"Well, when you've been in Tokyo did you ever hear anything about the Sailor Scouts?" Serena asked.

"I've heard the urban legends. Even seen some of the phony news reports about them. What do they have to do with whether or not you'll marry me?" Kyle asked with his face scrunched up.

"They are no urban legends," Serena muttered then licked her suddenly too dry lips.

"Were you in trouble or something one time? Did they rescue you? Is that how you know that they really do exist?"

"Actually, I know about them because I'm," Serena paused, "I WAS Sailor Moon."

Kyle slammed on the brakes and stopped the car in the middle of the deserted road and turned in his seat. He tried to decide if Serena was trying to pull his leg. Instead she looked dead serious.

"You're kidding. Right?" Kyle watched as Serena's face remained stoic. "Serena?"

"I wish I was," Serena turned her face away and stared out of the window. "I was terrible at being Sailor Moon. R-" Serena corrected herself since she couldn't reveal the others' secrets as well as her own. "Sailor Mars always made sure that I knew that I fell far short from being anything resembling a hero. From day one she never let a chance go by without letting me know just how much of a failure I was as a leader. I could tell that, to an extent, the others all shared similar doubts about me. After all, I'm a coward. Something that I proved by running away. I just couldn't take it anymore. I left my crystal behind and hopped on a bus...Just running to get as far away as I could from everything that I ever was. After all, they were better off without me there. If a new enemy showed up they wouldn't have to worry about me anymore." By now Serena was crying but tried to continue. "All I ever wanted was to be able to be normal. I never wanted to …."

Kyle reached out to Serena and pulled her to him. He wasn't sure if he really understood what she was telling him but, call him crazy, he did believe her. "It's alright," He said as he felt Serena shake from the sobbing. Once she settled down just a bit before lifting her face up to meet his and asked, "So what part of all of that did you think would change my mind about marrying you?"

/

Lita was shopping in the grocery store and was waiting in line with the makings of her newest recipe while looking through the latest gossip magazines. When she turned the page her jaw dropped. There on the page was Serena. Okay, so her hair was red instead of blond but she'd seen her often enough while using the crystal to disguise herself to know Serena when she saw her. Even if the other Scout had been missing for more than eight months. Lita glanced through the article and saw that it said that the woman in the photograph was now engaged to Kyle Garret. One of the youngest, richest, bachelors in the country. Lita saw that the check out girl was ready for her so she tossed the magazine on top of her other purchases and finished up her shopping. She needed to tell the others about this.

/

"Come on, Lita. That CAN'T be Serena," Rei said as she looked hard at the picture in the magazine. "Where would she meet someone like Kyle Garret?"

"I don't know...Lita might be right," Mina said as she, too, studied the photograph. "I mean, take the red hair away and replace it with blond and she DOES look like our Serena."

"Then we know where to go to find Serena now?" Ami asked as she eyed the magazine.

"I don't think so. The Garrets have homes in nearly every major city in the country. And the article doesn't say where Kyle Garret has been living so we could look for months without finding him. OR Serena," Lita said feeling the let down after the initial rush of finding a lead that pointed to their missing Scout.

"I wonder how Darien's going to take it when he sees this," Rei said frowning.

"See what?" Darien asked as he came up toward the small outdoor shrine where the young women were gathered.

The four Scouts all exchanged glances with one another. None of them wanted to tell Darien what they now believed about Serena. That she was now engaged to another man.

"Uh...Well..." Mina bit her lip as Darien came closer to see what they had been looking at.

"Don't you girls ever get tired of reading those trashy magazines?" Darien snickered as he watched Lita snatch the magazine up and rolled in her hands.

"You might would be surprised what you'd find out if you ever pick one up," Lita replied.

"I'm sure. So, what was in that thing that I was supposed to see?"

"Uh.." Mina started to think fast. "Just an article about how women don't find men in tuxedos as attractive as they used to."

"Yeh, the grunge look is really getting a following again," Rei said.

Darien cocked an eyebrow at the women and shook his head. "Yeh, well I'm not really worried what MOST women find attractive. Speaking of which, any word on Serena?"

Again the four exchanged glances but it was Ami who responded, "Nothing for sure. We think that she might have used the crystal to change her appearance with the Silver Moon Crystal before she left. That may be why we haven't been able to trace her."

"It makes sense. That would explain why no one has recognized her picture when we show it to folks," Darien said with a nod. "So how do we find her?"

"Well, Luna did say that Pluto told her that Serena would be coming back. So that's got to be good news, right?" Mina said from her place.

"We can hope," Darien heaved a sigh.

/

Serena was sitting curled up on the couch in what was now hers and Kyle's apartment. She listened to Kyle as he told her about an upcoming trip that he'd need to take to Tokyo. As he told her of a merger that was planned Serena began to stare at the ring on her hand. She was so happy that she was getting married; it all felt so right. She was getting married to a man that she loved and who loved her. The REAL her. Not someone that she was trying to pretend to be just because of someone that she used to be in a past life. The only thing that didn't feel right was that she was planning a wedding without any of her friends or family knowing that she was engaged.

"Serena? You're not listening to me are you? What's going through that pretty head of yours?" Kyle asked as he stopped talking and shifted so he could get a better look at Serena's face.

"I was just thinking about the wedding," Serena replied.

"You're not changing your mind are you?" Kyle asked worriedly.

"Nothing like that," Serena said as she shook her head. "I was just thinking that since you're going to Tokyo that maybe I should go with you. That way I can tell my parents that I'm getting married."

"If that's what you want to do," Kyle said as he thought back to their conversations on Serena's birthday about how she felt about her friends and family. Not to mention her telling him about the Sailor Scouts and their lack of faith in her. He wasn't sure if he liked them by the way they had treated Serena before. Still, he could understand her wanting to see her parents. "I wouldn't mind having a little company while in the city if you decide to come along. And then we can invite your folks out to dinner."

"That sounds good. It's just that it wouldn't seem right to get married without my parents there," Serena said as she hugged Kyle for understanding.

"Then does that mean that we can set the date afterwards?" If it was up to Kyle, he wouldn't mind getting married BEFORE heading back to Tokyo. Maybe a part of him worried that Serena would change her mind once she got back among her friends and fellow Scouts. Not to mention her former boyfriend; the one that she was supposedly DESTINED to be with.

"Absolutely," Serena said with a kiss. Serena then added excitedly, "I can't wait to tell my mother that I'm getting married."


	10. The Prodigal Scout Returns

When Serena pulled the rental car up right outside of her parents' home she saw that her father was at work as usual for this time of day. Sammy was most likely at school which left her mother at home by herself right now. Serena figured that it'd be best to talk to her alone first. Serena got out of the car and walked nervously up the front walkway to the door. Swallowing, Serena took a look around the neighborhood and saw that nothing had really changed around here in more than eight months. Well, nothing but her at least. She really didn't think that she was the same person that she'd been when she left. She knew that she didn't look the same. Serena hoped that she could pass off the differences in the way she looked thanks to the disguise given to her by the Moon Crystal as just what happens when you haven't seen someone in such a long time. Gathering up her courage, Serena brought her hand up to knock on the door. It seemed like an eternity before she heard her mother on the other side of the door.

"Hello. Can I help you?" Mrs. Tsukino asked as she answered the door.

Serena pursed her lips together briefly before she said one short, simple, word. "Mom."

Serena's mother squinted a bit as she studied the woman at her door, "Serena?"

Serena threw herself at her mother and held her tight. "Momma, I've missed you!" Serena said while trying to fight back the tears.

/

Shadow Moon had been meditating as she searched once again for Sailor Moon in hopes of finding the Imperial Silver Moon Crystal. Now after a long search she could finally sense something. With an evil smile Shadow Moon left her sanctuary to find her long missing opponent. With any luck, she and the other Shadows would be back in their own dimension by sunset.

/

Serena and her mother had gone into the living room to talk the moment that either of them had been able to pull themselves apart from the other. Serena began to apologize for being gone but her mother cut her off. There would be time for that later. Instead she wanted to hear of everything that she'd been doing while she was gone. Serena told of how she had gotten a job in a restaurant, which happened to be were she met Kyle Garret.

"I've heard of him and his family. I heard that some of the Garrets are quite eccentric."

"Well, you're going to get to judge that for yourself, Mom," Serena said with a grin.

"What do you mean that I'll get to judge that for myself?" Serena's mother asked confused.

"Well, a little over six months ago I started dating Kyle and about two weeks ago he asked me to marry him," Serena laughed as the sound of her mother screaming out drowned out anything else that she would have said.

"He WHAT?"

/

Shadow Moon arrived outside of the house that she knew to be that of Sailor Moon just as she watched Sailor Moon's mother wave good-bye to a woman with long red hair. The woman then drove off in a car that had been parked out in front of the house. As the car pulled away from the house Shadow Moon could feel a pull toward the occupant as she left the house.

"So, she returns with a disguise. Not that it will do her any good," Shadow Moon grimaced.

/

"Kyle, you should have seen my mother's face when I told her that we're getting married." Serena said as she drove the car back toward the main business district of the city. She switched the cell phone to her other ear as Kyle responded.

"So does that mean that everything is set up for tonight?" Kyle asked on his end of the line.

"Actually, Mom thought it might would be best to wait until tomorrow night," Serena said laughing. "That way they have more time to get used to the idea of me getting married."

"Alright. I'll call to make some reservations," Kyle said as he took a file from his secretary as she brought it into him to read. He then asked hopefully, "Does that mean that you are on your way back now?"

"Yes, I just turned off at.." Serena dropped the phone as she looked out of the windshield of the car and what looked like was herself standing in the path of the car. Or at least what looked like her alter ego, Sailor Moon! Serena slammed on the brakes which sent the phone sliding across the floor of the car. "How can this be? Did the others find a way to replace me?"

"Out of the car Sailor Moon! And hand over that crystal!" Shadow Moon shouted from her place in the road.

"How do you...? What Crystal? I don't have any crystal!" Serena hollered out as she tried to put the car in reverse.

"Oh no you don't!" Shadow Moon brought her hand up to her tiara and removed it from it's resting place as it started to glow in her hand. Serena began to panic and clumsily removed her seat belt and opened the car door, jumping out just before Shadow Moon hurled it her way. Serena hit the ground hard and rolled as the car caught fire behind her. "I want that crystal!"

Serena looked up at a face that was far too familiar and was at a lost as to what was going on. "I don't have it!"

"Liar!"

/

Darien looked up sharply when he felt a familiar twinge. Serena was close by and she was in danger. One part of him felt over-joyed at finally being able to sense her after more than eight months. Another part of him was terrified that she was in trouble. Transforming into Tuxedo Mask, he bolted toward where he sensed Serena. When he got to close enough to see smoke from the burning car his eyes grew wide and he increased his speed even more. Once where the beacon of smoke had led him Tuxedo Mask was surprised to see that instead of Serena he found Shadow Moon attacking a woman with red hair. It was only after she turned as she tried to get away from the Shadow Scout that Tuxedo Mask could tell that the woman was really Serena.

"Serena!" Tuxedo Mask leapt between the women and brought up his cane to use it as a weapon.

"So typical, Tuxedo Mask. But you are too late," Shadow Moon snickered then took her prize and vanished.

Tuxedo Mask frowned as he turned to face Serena after so long. "Are you alright?" There was so much that he wanted to ask but he knew that he needed to know that first and foremost.

"I think so," Serena said as she turned to survey the damage to the rental car. "So much for getting my security deposit back on that now," Serena said as she purposefully avoided Tuxedo Mask's gaze. Having to be rescued like this was just like old times. The old times that she'd wanted to leave in the past.

"It could have been worse," Tuxedo Mask said as he reached out to pull Serena toward him. He was surprised when she pulled away and walked closer to the cooling wreckage of the car. Sighing he figured that he'd better clarify what Shadow Moon had said as she left. "What did Shadow Moon mean when she said that I was too late?"

"SHADOW Moon?" Serena asked as she turned her head to glance in Tuxedo Mask's general direction.

"A lot has happened since you took off. I'll explain later but she's been trying to find the Moon Crystal."

"Well she didn't find it here," Serena said as she sighed when she saw her cell phone melted by the side of the car. "She took my diamond necklace, not the crystal. I left it with Lita." Serena then searched the side of the road for a payphone. She couldn't imagine what was going through Kyle's mind right now. The two of them talking one minute then Serena dropped the call like that the next.

"But WHY did you leave it with Lita?" Darien asked before asking what he'd wondered for most of the year. "Why did you leave?"

Serena's shoulders dropped as she turned to face the man that she wasn't sure if she wanted to see right now or not but she figured that she owed it to him to talk at least. To tell him before he learned from someone else that she had moved on. That she was now engaged.

"I couldn't do it anymore Darien," Serena said as she stared into Darien's eyes. "I couldn't pretend to be happy about being someone that I didn't want to be. The constant heartaches just because others thought that they knew what is best for me. I couldn't take the endless criticisms. I just plain had enough of everyone. I decided that everyone would be better off without me. After all, I was just a liability for the Scouts. Doesn't what just happened here prove it? You having to sweep in here to save the day just like always?"

"Serena, I..." Tuxedo Mask wasn't sure what he should say. The woman that stood in front of him seemed so different than the one that he'd always known.

"No," Serena said shaking her head. "Don't tell me that it was only because I didn't have the crystal because we both know that hasn't ever really made a difference in the past."

"The Scouts have needed you here," Darien said even though he wanted to tell her that HE had needed her. Instead all that squeezed past the emotion in his throat was, "Can we assume that you're back for good?"

Serena lifted her chin up and shook her head, "I only came back to Tokyo to see my parents. NOT to become Sailor Moon again. That part of my life is over."

"Serena! Don't be a fool, you ARE Sailor Moon. It's not something that you can just decide to stop being. Do you have any idea what the others have been through since you've been gone? You are needed here."

"Hey! I never asked to be Sailor Moon! All that I've ever wanted was a normal life! No monsters, no destiny already planned out for me. No secrets!" Serena said as swept her had off to the side to emphasize her argument. When she did Tuxedo Mask noticed the light hit the ring that rested on it. "Now that I've finally found that kind of life I'm not just going to come walking back."

"What is that?" He asked as he pointed to the ring on Serena's hand.

Serena looked down at the ring and clenched her fist. "I'm getting married. That's why I came back to Tokyo."

"Serena! You CAN'T! We're destined to be together!" Tuxedo Mask said as he felt a cold chill settle in the pit of his stomach. "We saw it in the future! We saw Rini; Crystal Tokyo!"

"Is that the only reason that we should be together?" Serena asked seriously.

"Come on. What are you talking about? We've been in love for over a millennia."

"Have we?" Serena replied calmly. "Oh, I don't doubt that our former selves loved one another. And maybe our future selves do, too. HUNDREDS OF YEARS FROM NOW!" Serena watched as Darien's eyes reflected pain.

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying that neither one of us would have given the other the time of day if we hadn't been told that we were destined for one another," Serena said quietly.

"That isn't true." Tuxedo Mask denied Serena's statement. "I love you and I know that you love me. Which is why you CAN'T get married to some other man!"

"Darien, what you've felt for me was a sense of duty," Serena said.

"And what did you feel for me if it wasn't love?" Tuxedo Mask asked while he wasn't really sure he wanted to hear her answer.

"I was fourteen when I was told that we're supposed to be together. The whole idea of a destined love that stretched across lifetimes seemed so romantic," Serena said as she looked away. "I thought I was in love; until I had something to compare it to. Then I realized that what I felt was a schoolgirl crush. I might have loved on some level but I'm IN love with Kyle. That's different."

With that statement Darien's face fell as he could feel his heart break. What can he say in response to that revelation?


	11. Learning More About Sailor Moon

Kyle looked at the phone as the connection was lost. He called Serena's phone again but the call wouldn't go through. He frowned when he couldn't reach his fiancée. Especially when Serena didn't call him back.

"Maybe her battery went dead," Kyle said while trying not to worry. Sighing, he opened the file on his desk. Inside it was a collection of stories about the local heroines, the Sailor Scouts. He'd never paid much attention to the news reports regarding the young women before. But then, he never had a reason to either. From what he could tell the Scouts had been around for about three and a half years. That would have meant that Serena would have only been fourteen when she took up the mantle of being the Champion of Justice as she'd been dubbed in the news clips.

How could someone who has been protecting the world from the types of things that nightmares are made up of since she was only a child think of herself as a coward?

Among the news clippings Kyle found a few pictures, too, that had been taken of all of the Sailor Scouts. He concentrated on the one that was labeled as Sailor Moon. Instead of the red hair that he'd known her with she had long blond pig-tails with buns at the base of each tail. Kyle didn't know how the photographer had done it but he even found a couple of photographs of what had to be described as battles. Those were the pictures that he found the most interesting. There were some with five Scouts fighting some strange tentacled creature. Well, Sailor Moon was fighting it. The other four Scouts seemed to have been beaten and were crouched down on their knees as if struggling to stand back up. Sailor Moon, meanwhile, was holding out a strange looking wand with light radiating from it. The last Scout standing. Kyle wondered if this scene was the norm for the group.

Did the woman that considered herself a coward end up being the only one that could stand up to the enemy in the end often?

Kyle continued to read over the news reports as he waited for Serena to call him back. That is if she could call him back. He was beginning to wonder if coming back to Tokyo was a good idea. After all, some of the reports were recent. Mainly just reports of seeing the Sailor Scouts leaping from one building to another or racing down the street as if on their way to a fight. But it showed that things weren't always as calm in this city as they seemed to be. Maybe they should have called and invited Serena's family up to their place in the mountains instead.

/

Luna ran with the Sailor Scouts as they headed toward where a disturbance had been indicated as fast as she could. As often as the Shadows had been attacking lately she wasn't sure if the Scouts were ready to fight again so soon. Still, they couldn't let the challenge go unanswered. When they turned around the corner they spotted Tuxedo Mask facing a woman that looked like Serena. Sort of. Her hair was different but she was the right height, the right build, the right everything. She looked just like she did in the picture that Lita had found in the gossip magazine. The couple seemed to be staring each other down. Neither wanting to be the first to look away but not really wanting to look at the other either.

"Serena!" Sailor Jupiter said excitedly. "We've been so worried about you."

Serena eyed Tuxedo Mask one last time before turning to accept the hug that her friend was about to give her. "Jupiter, I've missed you."

"You didn't have to MISS anyone," Sailor Mars said as she teetered on the edge of being furious that her leader had left them in the first place and being thrilled that she'd finally come back. "Where have you been?" She continued since it was easier to show her frustration than it was to show her joy at her friend's return.

"That's a long story," Serena said as she tried to read Mar's body language. She wanted to dress Serena down so badly. That much was clear.

"What happened here then?" Sailor Mercury asked as she surveyed the car wreckage.

"I was introduced to Shadow Moon. The hard way," Serena sighed. "Shadow Moon stole my necklace and left. She thinks that she has the Moon Crystal now."

"It won't take long for her to realize her mistake," Luna said in concern. "The first thing that we have to do is to return the crystal to you so that you can transform when she comes back."

"Luna, I've already told Tuxedo Mask, I didn't come back to become Sailor Moon again. I'm through with fighting," Serena said as she turned slightly to indicate to the man in question. When she did, Serena saw that he'd already left. Just like always, slipping away when ever he danged well felt like it. Not that she'd wanted him to stay but still she hated that he could come and go as he pleased without her ever noticing.

"Serena, the Shadows won't give you a choice. You HAVE to be able to defend yourself," Luna said firmly.

"I..." Serena wanted to scream out that she didn't want to be Sailor Moon. That neither Luna nor the Scouts could make her. She could feel angry tears wanting to spill from her eyes. It wasn't fair. She was supposed to be on her way to see her fiancé who was probably worried about why she hadn't called him back yet after the call was dropped during the attack. Not feeling as if her life was being forced back into the same box that it had taken her three and a half years to get out of in the first place. Instead she heard herself say, "I know." It was a surrender; not really an acceptance. "For right now I need to find a phone. I need to get that..." Serena said pointing toward her now ruined rental car, "...taken care of. And I also need to let Kyle know that I'm alright. I was on the phone with him when Shadow Moon attacked."

"Well first thing's first," Luna said as she performed a leap. Once she was back down on all four paws Serena's pendant with the Silver Moon Crystal was settled right in front of her. "Take this so that the next time that the Shadows attack you'll be prepared."

Reluctantly, Serena stooped to pick up the crystal. So much for NOT becoming Sailor Moon again.

"Wait a minute, you said that you needed to call KYLE. So you really ARE engaged to Kyle Garret?" Sailor Venus asked practically drooling at the tidbit of information.

"How did..." Serena asked in surprise.

"We read about the engagement in a magazine," Sailor Jupiter said with a smile. "I KNEW that it was you when I saw it." Serena thought back to the photographer that had cornered her and Kyle on their way out of a restaurant the weekend that they'd been up with his family up at the chateau. She had to smile as she remembered the weekend. "So how did you meet a complete HUNK like Kyle Garret?"

"Let me guess, he reminds you of your ex-boyfriend Freddie," Serena teased.

"Are you kidding? If Freddie looked like THAT he wouldn't be my EX!" Jupiter exclaimed.

"Guys," Mars said irritably. "Maybe we should take this OFF of the street."

"Mars is right," Serena said as she glanced around. True the street wasn't busy but someone could still come up. "But for right now, I really need a phone. I'll catch up to the rest of you after I've straightened this out."

"But Serena, it's been so long since we've seen you," Mercury said, "Besides, I'm not sure that it's safe for you to be unguarded. Especially when Shadow Moon realizes that she doesn't have the crystal."

"Mercury's right," Venus agreed.

"Guys, I'll be FINE!" Serena said as she eyed Mars. She looked as if she was about to volunteer to watch over her and Serena just wasn't ready to have a show down with her right now. "Look, I'll come out to the temple this evening, alright?"

"Only if you really promise, Serena," Jupiter said as she followed her friend's gaze to their fiery comrade. Lita had always suspected that Rei's opinion of Serena had played a large part in Serena's disappearance.

"I promise," Serena said before adding, "Now, I know that if all of you would transform back, one of you is BOUND to have a phone on you."

Mina laughed, "You can use mine." She then leaned in toward Lita, "Then I'll have KYLE'S number." All of the young women then giggled at Mina's HELPFULNESS. All of them but Mars that is. The very mention of Serena's fiancé caused her to scowl.

/

Shadow Moon held up the necklace that she'd taken from Serena and gazed at it before handing it to the Scout of Water and Ice. "It's smaller than I thought it would be," Shadow Moon said as Shadow Mercury began to scan the jewel. "I wonder how you activate it."

"Shadow Moon, are you SURE that is the Imperial Silver Moon Crystal?" Shadow Mars asked skeptically.

"Of COURSE I'm sure, MARS!" Shadow Moon scowled. "We were told that she wore the crystal around her neck and there it was."

"Was there any other jewelry?" Shadow Mercury asked as she finished her scan.

"Just a ring. Why?" Shadow Moon asked as she turned bewildered at the question.

"Because this ISN'T the Moon Crystal. It's just an ordinary diamond. It has no power at all," Mercury said as she handed the lovely, yet worthless, jewel back to her leader.

"WHAT! THAT CAN'T BE!" Shadow Moon screamed. "This has to be the crystal!"

/

By the time that Serena was able to call Kyle he'd already headed into a meeting for a merger that was being negotiated while they were in town. Serena left a message with the secretary and then arranged for a new car to be sent out from the car rental place. Of course that was after she had quite a time trying to explain just WHAT had happened to the first car.

The next thing she had done had been something that she chose to do as a way to remind herself that even if there were some things that she couldn't control there were still others that she could. After removing the disguise that she'd asked the Crystal to give her more than eight months ago she headed to the nearest salon and had her long blond hair cut up to about halfway down her back and dyed red. By the time she left the beauty salon she looked just the way she had with the disguise on.

Finally, Serena made it back to Kyle's office just as he was finishing up his last meeting for the day. When Kyle closed the door to his office he did it with a head full of questions after Serena said that they needed to talk. Serena then went into detail about the attack that had interrupted their phone call. She told him about Shadow Moon; of her taking her necklace believing that it was the Moon Crystal.

"You mean that we've been in Tokyo for less than twenty-four hours and you've already been attacked and you are sitting there and acting like this is just par for the course?" Kyle asked incredulously.

"Kyle, as Sailor Moon it IS par for the course," Serena said as Kyle pulled her in for a hug. He wasn't sure that there was anything that he could do or say right now. He was willing to admit that he was out of his depth with all of this talk about evil and all. But he knew from his discussions with Serena that being drug back into this lifestyle had been the last thing that she'd wanted when they had come to town.

"Alright, so what do we do now?" Kyle asked as he considered that while Serena hadn't had the Moon Crystal earlier today when this Shadow Moon attacked, she had it now. That had to mean that she'd be back.

"Well, I'm supposed to go meet the others this evening," Serena said with a sigh. "I'd bring you along but I think that for the first time back I need to go alone. It was clear that Mars has some things that she wants to say."

"Are you sure that you want to do that?"

"No, but I'm sure that I NEED to do it anyway," Serena replied as she stared off toward the city from the window in the high rise office building. "Just this once."


	12. The Desire for a New Destiny

The Sailor Scouts all gathered at the Shinto Temple that Rei was a priestess at; all waiting for Serena to arrive. Along with them were their two feline advisors. Within the walls of Rei's private rooms both she and Lita were in a heated discussion about just how they should handle Serena's recent appearance. Meanwhile both Mina and Ami were watching on, not sure just what to do with their two hot-headed friends.

"Rei, if you go yelling at Serena the moment she walks in she's likely to leave again. And we need her here." Lita shouted at Rei as she stood nearly toe to toe with the other woman.

"So you expect me to just ignore the fact that she abandoned all of us to fight the Shadows all by ourselves?" Rei said with her hands on her hips.

"She didn't even know about the Shadows when she left, Rei! She'd been gone for weeks by the time that they'd shown up!" Lita said in defense of her Princess.

"Why are you standing there and defending her decision to just take off and ignore her duties? Her destiny?" Rei asked with her jaw set.

"I just think that sometimes Serena wants to be more than her destiny, is all," Lita said as she concentrated on lowering her voice.

"And sometimes we don't have that kind of choice," Rei said just a bit softer than she had spoken moments earlier. "We've seen the future and we have to do everything we can to protect it. What Serena's done in the last several months has put that future in danger."

"You're talking about Serena's engagement," Ami said from her place on a pillow on the floor.

"But Rei, what are we supposed to do about that? " Mina asked. "We can't just tell her that she can't get married to someone that she obviously wants to. She loves this other guy. Isn't that important too?"

"Serena is DESTINED to be with Darien! We came face to face with that fact years ago," Rei said as she thought back to the day when they'd all first learned that Serena was the long searched for Moon Princess.

"No, Princess Serenity was destined to be with Darien," Serena said as she walked into the room. "But she and her prince were killed by the Negaverse. And Neo-Queen Serenity will be with him in yet another century. We were never shown just what was expected of or destined for THIS century."

"It's about time that you showed up. Late as usual," Rei muttered under her breath, or so she had thought.

"Actually, I've been here a while. I've just been waiting for you and Lita to stop arguing," Serena sighed. "If you have something to say, Rei, then go ahead and say it to me. The two of you don't need to fight about it."

"Why did you leave, Serena?" Rei asked as she looked directly into Serena's eyes.

Serena thought about her answer for a few seconds before replying. "I felt like the four of you would be better off without me," Serena stated simply. "It's never been a secret that I've never relished the thought of being Sailor Moon OR the Moon Princess. But at the time it seemed like nothing that I ever did was good enough."

The other Scouts all exchanged glances with one another as Mina spoke up, "We knew that you always did your best."

"And many times that just wasn't enough," Serena went over to sit with her and Ami, hoping that Rei and Lita would follow suit. "So I had to get away to figure out just what I was capable of doing without the rest of you to watch over me. Waiting for my next mistake," Serena hated the fact that she directed the last statement towards Rei. Especially when she saw hurt in the woman's eyes.

"So where did you go?" Mina asked since she knew that all of them had wanted to know for more than eight months just where their friend was.

"I hopped on a bus at random and ended up in a resort town," Serena said with a shrug of her shoulders. "I got a job and..."

"Engaged," Rei said as she sat opposite of Serena at the low table that they were all gathered around.

"Yes, two weeks ago Kyle asked me to marry him," Serena nodded. "And I don't regret saying yes."

"But what about Darien? He's been waiting for you to reach eighteen for three years!" Rei said, feeling the betrayal that she was sure that he must feel now that Serena had caste him aside so easily.

"Rei, I don't want to get married to someone just because I think that's what is expected of me," Serena said almost pleading for her friend to understand. "Before Darien and I were told that we were SUPPOSED to be together we could never even be in the same room without going at one another. I thought that he was a mean-spirited, egotistical jerk! And he didn't exactly think very highly of me, either. Then we were told that it was our destiny to be together and it was like a switch was flipped but somewhere along the way we stopped even trying to really get to know one another. And then I just got tired of constantly getting my heart broken whenever Darien felt that he knew what was better for me. He'd pull away without even letting me know what was going on."

"He was only trying to protect you from danger," Rei said as she defended the man that she had once set her own sights on. Back before she knew that he was off limits to her.

"Well a real relationship can't work by one person deciding what's best all by their selves. Not when the choices that the one makes affects the other so dramatically. When you really want what's best in a relationship you have to talk about it. Together. That NEVER happened with me and Darien," Serena said with a shake of her head. "To him, I was a child that didn't know what was best for myself so I had to be protected from my own heart."

"Serena, do you really think that you'll have a better relationship with this rich prick that you're engaged to? You'll be having to keep secrets from him from the very beginning," Rei pointed out, though mainly to keep from admitting that what Serena had said about her and Darien's relationship had been right. She wasn't made of stone, after all. She'd watched her friend muddle through the constant heartaches that shadowed the couple's relationship.

"Kyle loves me for who I am. I trust him more than I ever thought possible. We don't have any secrets from one another," Serena said firmly as she heard gasps from the others.

"You mean that he knows that you are Sailor Moon?" Lita asked.

"You told him?" Mina added.

"Yes, I did. When he asked me to marry him I told him. I wanted him to know what he was getting involved with so he could back out if he wanted to. Instead he's been real supportive," Serena said with a small smile.

"Serena," Luna spoke for the first time. "You do realize that this decision to marry this other man may, and most likely will, alter the future. Don't you?"

"Luna, from the moment that you first found me I was never once given a choice in anything that has happened to me. I wasn't asked if I wanted to become Sailor Moon. I wasn't able to choose if I wanted to fight against Beryl, or Ann and Alan, the Dark Moon, or any of the others that have come to Earth for one reason or another. I've been bound by a past that has happened over a thousand years ago. But the future isn't set in stone. One decision that I will NOT give up is who I choose to marry. And I refuse to believe that what I do in this century will affect the thirtieth century which is when the Silver Moon Kingdom is supposed to resurface. If it does, then what's to say that it wasn't meant to be changed in the first place?" Serena asked having been prepared for that question.

The four women and two felines all glanced at one another since they had not been prepared for a well thought out argument from the member of their ranks that had rarely thought beyond the heat of the moment. Of course, there was another that had heard the argument as well. One that had been listening just beyond the windows. Leaving the Scouts behind, that person turned and left the temple behind. Thanks to the discussion, that person now had quite a bit swirling about their mind. They had a lot of thinking to do.

/

"Are you sure that this will work?" Shadow Mars asked as she considered her leader's plan.

"Of course. If there is anything that I'm sure of it's that Sailor Moon would hate to have anything happened to Lover Boy. And we know that he'd be no match for us so snatching him will be a piece of cake. Then we simply tell Sailor Moon that she either hands over the crystal or say bye-bye to the love of her life." Shadow Moon said with a grin. She could already feel the crystal's power coursing through her veins.

"But what happens if the Generals show up?" Shadow Venus asked. "They've been doing that a lot lately."

"Simple, you just keep them busy long enough for me to snatch the target up then we all just teleport back out of there. Once we have him the Generals will alert the Sailors," Shadow Moon said as she leaned lazily in her chair. "And they won't do anything that might would bring harm to him."

"It should work," Shadow Mercury said thoughtfully. "We'll just have to wait until he's alone in the right place then set our plan into motion. We should keep a watch so we won't miss our opportunity."

"Are you volunteering to pull the first watch?" Shadow Mars asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I suppose so. Just don't forget to relieve me in a few hours," Mercury said as she stood to leave. "Hopefully we'll have the crystal so we can return home by this time tomorrow night."


	13. Shadows Stalking the Moon

Serena spent the day mainly being nervous about having dinner with her family and Kyle. She wasn't sure why but the very idea of sitting through a dinner with everyone meeting one another for the first time just sent her stomach into all sorts of knots.

While in town today, Serena had also met up with Molly at lunch and had told her about the wedding. That had, of course, sent Molly into orbit as she became excited about being asked to be in the wedding that was bound to be the event of the season. She had asked if Serena was sure that she wanted Molly involved with such a high class affair but Serena had been insistent. She wasn't about to get married without her oldest friend there with her. Of course that meant that Melvin would be there too but that was a sacrifice that Serena was willing to make.

Now Serena chose her best dress for the night, really wanting to impress her parents since a part of her wanted to show them just how well she'd done for herself since she'd left home. Maybe it was vain but she didn't want them to see her as the same child that they had thought of her as less than one year ago. She'd chosen a creamed color dress and waited until it was time for her and Kyle to meet her parents and brother at the restaurant.

"If I didn't know better I'd say that you're more nervous to see your own folks than you were to meet mine," Kyle said with grin as he and Serena took a seat at the table after letting the maître d' that they were expecting company.

"I guess I am," Serena said with a shrug.

"Everything will be fine," Kyle said reassuringly.

"I hope that your right," Serena said with a sigh, "Because here they come." Serena said as she indicated toward where she saw her family being led their way by the maître d'.

/

Darien had hopped onto his motorcycle to go for a ride after work. He had been thinking about every time that he'd rescued Serena as Sailor Moon. The first time had been Serena's first night as Sailor Moon. From then he could always sense when she'd been in trouble. Serena had been a major part of his life for more than three years. He wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do now if she decides that it was all over between them. He'd known that he'd hurt her in the past. Hurt her many times but he'd always felt that it was better for her to feel a little pain in the present if it could save her a lot of pain in the future. He never realized that she was slowly being pushed away to the point that there was no coming back.

Serena was now engaged and was showing a side of herself that Darien hadn't known that she had in her. Well, outside of when she was Princess Serenity. He'd always hoped that she'd find that part of herself; the strong individual that knew what she wanted and went after it. Of course Serena had always been stronger than he or anyone else had given her credit for. That was partly due to the fact that she only would show her strong side when backed into a corner. Darien just hadn't realized that this time it'd been HIM that had pushed her into that corner.

Darien figured that he'd best do some figuring if he was going to find a way to keep Serena from marrying this other guy. After all, if anyone was going to marry Serena it was supposed to be him. And he had fate on his side to prove it. The future depended on him and Serena being together. He and Serena had even seen the Silver Millennia. What would happen to that future in the thirtieth century if it's past was changed? And more importantly, what would happen to Rini? The knowledge that in the future that he'd have a daughter, mischievous little imp that she is, had caused him to smile more than once.

Still, there was something that Serena had told the others that he couldn't quite get out of his head. They'd been told what had happened in the past, even shown the future in the thirtieth century, but they had not ever been shown just how THIS life was supposed to fit in place between the two time periods. Does that mean that they DO have choices in this lifetime? Or have their destinies been completely planned out for them.

Darien was racing down the back streets of Tokyo with these thoughts swirling around in his head when he'd looked up and suddenly had to put on the breaks. Up ahead were five Scouts, all of whom looked to be waiting for him.

/

Nephrite looked up sharply from his meditation at the sense that the Prince of this dimension was in trouble. He quickly left his sanctuary that he'd been using since coming to this realm and teleported to where he could sense the trouble was brewing. When he arrived he found that the Prince had transformed into Tuxedo Mask and was doing his best to fend off all five Shadow Scouts. Behind Nephrite came the other three Generals to help to defend the counterpart for their own Prince.

"Great!" Shadow Moon groaned as she saw the four Generals approach. "Take care of them," She shouted at the other Shadows as she grabbed Tuxedo Mask's cane that he'd been using as a weapon. "Now come on Tuxey, that wouldn't be very nice to hit me with that," Shadow Moon grinned, "Besides, I just wanted to invite you to a party. No RSVP required."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'd rather not," Tuxedo Mask grunted as he leapt out of Shadow Moon's reach as she renewed her own attacks.

"Well I'm afraid that you don't have much of a choice!" Shadow Moon said cockily. "After all, how else am I supposed to lure Sailor Moon here if you don't cooperate?"

"If you're hoping that Sailor Moon will come for me you're going to be harshly disappointed. You've got the wrong guy for that," Tuxedo Mask muttered to himself. Though Shadow Moon heard it and became curious at the statement. Unfortunately she couldn't stick around to ask him what he had meant since the Generals were beating the skirts off of the other Shadows. It was time to retreat. That and figure out just what Tuxedo Mask's comment had really meant.

/

Serena bade her family good-bye then started to head to where their car was waiting for her and Kyle. The evening had gone fairly well, even with her brother making the typical jokes about her clumsiness. Her parents had enjoyed meeting Kyle and he them. The only thing that her father had made it known that he was unhappy about was that Serena and Kyle had already moved in together despite not being married just yet. Serena had seen that point being made from a mile away. Still, all in all it had been a good evening.

It was only once she and Kyle were in the rental car that her communicator (Which Luna had insisted that she keep with her again when she'd gone to the Shinto Temple last night.) sounded. Fighting back a groan, Serena answered it with Kyle looking on.

"Ami? What is it this time?" Serena said already scanning the various alleyways as they drove by them for a good place to transform if she needed to.

"I'll wait to explain everything when you get here, Serena. But you need to come to Lita's immediately," Ami said nervously before adding, "Alone."

When Kyle heard that part he'd been about to say something but Serena held up her hand for him to wait. "Ami, I've already told all of you that I don't hide anything from Kyle. There's no reason to leave him behind. I'll be th.."

"Serena, this is for his own protection. Trust me," Ami said as she bit her lip. "I'll explain it when you get here. But hurry."

"Alright," Serena said as the communicator shut down.

"So where is this Lita's?" Kyle asked since he wasn't about to just let Serena out on the side of the road with no idea of where she was heading.

"Go down four blocks and make a left. It's the corner building," Serena said as she eyed her communicator.

"I know that they don't want me up there but that won't stop me from waiting down in the car. I don't like the sound of that message," Kyle said with his brows furled.

"I'm not sure I do either," Serena said then continued to give directions to the apartment building. When they'd finally reached Lita's place Serena headed up alone and found not only the Scouts there waiting on her but Darien as well. "What's all of this about? And why's Darien here?"

"Serena, there's something that you need to know about," Ami said while eying her fellow scouts. They all knew that Serena wasn't going to like what they had to say.

"And what's that?"

"Well, you see..." Ami gave a pleading look to the others to help her. "The Shadows attacked Darien tonight."

Serena's eyes darted over to him to check to make sure that he was alright. Which he seemed to be.

"They only did that because they thought that if they were able to capture me that you'd surrender the Moon Crystal," Darien said for Ami since he could tell that she really didn't want to be the one to continue.

"But they DIDN'T capture you," Serena said still trying to figure out why everyone was giving her odd looks.

"Only because the Generals showed up when they did," Darien was forced to admit. "The thing is, I might have said something in the heat of battle that I shouldn't have." Darien looked away when Serena focused her confused look his way. "I said that if they expected you to give up the crystal that they had the wrong guy."

The room was then silent for several minutes before Serena spoke up, "You told them about Kyle?"

"They don't know who he is, that's why we asked you to come here alone. The only way that they'll be able to figure out who Kyle is will be by following you to him," Mina said from her place on the couch.

"Which means that if I want to keep him safe I can't go anywhere near him," Serena said with a glare toward Darien.


	14. If you Love Someone Stay Away from Him

Meanwhile, Kyle was sitting in the car waiting for Serena to come back down from seeing her fellow Scouts. He was beginning to get concerned that she hadn't come back down yet when his cell phone rang. Looking at the readout, Kyle didn't recognize the number. "Hello?"

"Kyle, you might want to head on back to the hotel. It doesn't look like I'll be going back tonight," Serena's voice came across in a strained, barely controlled, manner.

"What's going on, Serena?"

Serena let out a sigh and explained that the reason that she'd been called so abruptly was because there was reason to believe that the Shadows intended to follow her to find out who he was. That way they could use him as leverage against her. Which meant that the best way to keep him safe right now was to stay away from him. That way she couldn't lead the Shadows to him.

A part of Kyle was offended that he was considered to be someone that needed to be protected. A man that couldn't defend himself. Though the wiser part of him acknowledged that when it came to forces like these Shadow Scouts he was exactly that. He was just an ordinary man with no powers. And it irked him to high Heaven that Serena's friends had felt the need to point that out.

"Serena, what about you? That means that these Shadows are following you, or at least will be."

"I'll be alright. The Scouts will be here if I need them," Serena said. That's what Kyle was afraid of. It was those same watchful eyes that Serena was now depending on that had driven her away less than a year ago. "Go back to the hotel, I'll call you in the morning. I love you."

"I love you, too, Serena. And for the record, I'm not comfortable with leaving you here." Kyle said as he caught movement out of the corner out of his eye. A man was coming out of the same building that Serena had gone in nearly an hour before. To Kyle, that man looked familiar. Mainly since he'd spent the last two days pouring over reports and photographs of the Scouts. He'd seen Tuxedo Mask in several of the pictures as well. So that is Serena's ex.

"I'll be fine. I promise."

Once Serena hung up Kyle watched as the dark haired man that had left the apartment building climbed onto a motorcycle and ride off.

/

"He said that I had the wrong guy," Shadow Moon said as she thought carefully on her failed attempt to capture Darien in an effort to force Sailor Moon trade the Silver Moon Crystal for his release. "That has to mean that there is another one out there instead."

"What makes you think that he wasn't just trying to throw you?" Shadow Mars asked as she wrapped her ankle after her latest run in with the Generals.

"I don't know... he seemed to be hurt by the knowledge. Not like he was dangling it as bait," Shadow Moon said as she turned and faced her guardians. "And I DID see a ring yesterday."

"But Tuxedo Mask rescued her. Just like he always did," Shadow Mercury pointed out.

"Which may explain the feelings of being hurt," Moon said as she tried to consider how her own Prince would have reacted if she had suddenly showed up engaged when they were seeing one another. "I think I can use that hurt. If he doesn't want this guy around he just might make another slip."

"Do you really think he'll make another mistake like that one?" Venus asked her leader. "He may not like being thrown aside but he's still loyal to Sailor Moon."

"Venus, I'd think that you of all people would understand that men can be forced to do a lot of things that they normally wouldn't do. Especially in the name of love," Shadow Moon said with a grin.

/

Darien walked into The Crown Arcade and looked behind the counter to see if his friend was working tonight. He wasn't so he just sat at the counter and ordered a soda as he thought about all that had happened tonight. When he'd left Lita's Darien had practically been fuming at Serena's stubbornness. He'd tried to explain to her that the fact that if even going near this Kyle guy put him in danger then that was yet another reason why she shouldn't marry the man. Serena needed someone to protect HER. Not someone that she needed to protect. And he for sure wasn't going to go off and rescue his replacement if he went and got in over his head. Pounding his fist on the counter, Darien couldn't help the thoughts that went through his mind. She can't really be serious about this guy. She KNOWS that the two of them were meant for one another. She CAN'T marry anyone else.

"I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one that's frustrated tonight," A voice said behind him. Darien turned and found a blond man just a bit younger than himself standing with a set look on his face.

"Do I know you?" Darien asked not really sure if he cared at this point. He was in no mood to talk to this stranger.

"Not yet but I'm guessing that you could figure out who I am if you think real hard about it," Kyle said as he tried to size up the other man. The first thing that Kyle decided was that the dark haired man looked too old to have been Serena's boyfriend from the time that she was fourteen. He had to be nearly six years older than Serena.

"You're Kyle," Darien said while narrowing his eyes. The two men stood at a stand off, both sizing up the other. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to find out just what's going on," Kyle said with while crossing his arms. "Care to fill me?"

"And I would tell you because...?" Darien said as he turned back to the counter. He did his best to ignore the fact that Kyle then sat on the stool next to him.

"Because I have a right to know what's going on with Serena and I know that you were at Lita's tonight when she was called there for a meeting. She told me that she's being watched by the Shadows so they can find out who I am. Should I take a guess at just how they know ABOUT me even if they don't know WHO I am?" Kyle said while trying to keep his voice from being overheard by anyone else in the arcade.

Darien ground his teeth before responding, "Do you have any idea what you are getting yourself into? There is no way that you can be what Serena needs..."

"I guess you're the self-proclaimed expert on what Serena needs," Kyle said with eyes that were nothing more than slits.

"I know more about Serena than you could ever hope to," Darien stood to leave. "As far as what's going on, it's just another typical day fighting against the likes of the Shadows. If you can't handle it then maybe you should bail out now while you still can."

"I'm not the kind to cut and run when ever things get a little hairy. And I'm not the kind of person that would just assume that I know what's best for Serena without talking it out with her."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Darien asked in a icy voice as he turned back to face.

"You are standing there all self-righteous-like. But Serena's told me about some of the stories from before she left. If you really knew everything that you think that you do then she'd have never of left." Kyle figured that coming to talk to the man had been a bad mistake. He got up to leave and hoped that Serena was alright at Lita's. At least he knew where she was at tonight.

"That's none of your business. All I'm saying is that Serena doesn't need someone that she'll have to worry about. Someone that she'll need to protect and rescue from the enemy," Darien said with a smirk. This man HAD to see what kind of a liability he'd be for Serena.

"I suppose you're right. After all, you'd know," Kyle said with a lowered voice. "Or did you like it when you were in the Negaverse?" That was the last thing that Kyle had said before he felt Darien's fist connect solidly with his jaw.


	15. A Fuzzy Future

Sailor Pluto watched the incident at the arcade on the view finder and shook her head as she watched the two men begin to attract the attention of the other patrons. Both men got in some good hits before they had been pulled apart by other men at the arcade. Pluto had been worried what would happen if those two would ever meet again.

"Those two have been on the edge of coming to blows for over a millennia," Came a disembodied voice from behind the Sailor of Time before she materialized fully as Pluto turned around.

"Your Highness," Pluto said in surprise that her former Queen had come to see her. "I had not expected you to come here."

"I know," Queen Serenity said with a smile. Then nodding back toward image of the two men Serenity said, "I always wondered how those two never got that out of their system back on the moon.

"I suppose neither wanted to fall out of favor with the Princess," Pluto replied. "Neither she nor Kyle know of their ties to one another in the past," Pluto said as she closed out the viewing panel. "I'm worried, Your Highness."

"And why's that?" Serenity asked as she studied her old friend.

"If the Princess chooses Kyle over the Prince this time, the future will be altered." Pluto's concern was obvious. "The edges of the tapestry have already begun to fray at the edges. It is no longer clear just what will happen in regards to the next Kingdom."

"Do you foresee it's possible destruction?" Serenity asked in concern.

"I can't see that far. It becomes hazy when I try to see the future if the Princess marries Kyle in this century."

"But will she be happy?" Serenity asked as she considered the implications of altering the set future.

"I don't know. She's been happy in recent months but I just can't see what will happen from here," Pluto said not really liking the truth of the fact that she really just didn't know what will happen if Serena stayed on the path that she'd recently started to go down.

"Then I suppose that the only thing we can do now is to wait and watch. And hope that all is well when everything is said and done," Serenity said. "Serena has waited for far too long to be happy. Regardless of how she finds that happiness, that's all I want for her."

"But being with him will create certain problems for the Princess," Pluto said while trying to remain the ever placid voice of reason.

"Not as many as you might would think." Serenity gave a calm smile at Plutos inquiring expression, "Not as many as you would think."

/

Shadow Moon had used her pendant to disguise herself as a civilian and had traced Tuxedo Mask to an arcade in town. When she had gotten there she was surprised to find that he and a man that she recognized. True, in this dimension he was not the same man that she'd grown up with but he looked identical to Kyle. The only other guy that she'd ever considered marrying besides her Prince Darien. In fact, up until she had met the Earthly Prince she had rarely been seen with any one other than Kyle from the time she could first walk. True he'd been a commoner but they had always hit it off.

Now watching as the two men were pulled apart Shadow Moon knew that she'd found the man that Tuxedo Mask had referred to when she had attacked him earlier in the day. Shadow Moon watched as the two men were thrown out of the arcade and went their separate ways. She'd intended on following Darien so that she could talk to him but now she changed her mind. Instead, she hoped to follow Kyle. Unfortunately, by the time she'd gotten out to street he'd already pulled his car away from the arcade and was long gone.

"Well, at least I know who I'm looking for," Shadow Moon said as she crossed her arms and gazed down the street. Now she just had to figure out how she would find Sailor Moon's fiancé. In the meantime, she'd best fill the others in on what she'd just discovered. They were now one step closer to getting the Imperial Silver Moon Crystal. Then they would return to their own dimension to seize their kingdom back. She refused to relinquish her rightful throne.

/

Kyle hadn't slept well last night knowing that Serena wasn't nearby. He'd hoped that when he finally woke up that he'd find that it'd all had been a bad dream. As luck would have it, though, he woke up alone and with a sore jaw from his less than stellar run in with Serena's ex-boyfriend. He didn't know what had gotten into him to make him follow the man. He just didn't like the idea of being the only one that had been cut out of the meeting that decided that he and Serena couldn't see one another. All for his own good of course. Now they were making decisions in the same way they had for Serena before she had left out from town nearly a year ago. Kyle just hoped that Serena wasn't starting to let them steer her in what ever way they wanted. Kyle hadn't been able to get much further in his rambling thoughts brought on by a lack of sleep when his phone rang. It was the same number that Serena had called him from last night so he figured that it must be her again. He answered the phone and couldn't help but smile at hearing Serena's voice despite his soured mood this morning.

"Good Morning, Baby," Serena said cheerfully on the other end of the line.

"Morning. Did you and the others figure out anything else after I left last night?" Kyle asked in hopes that the whole idea that he and Serena had to stay apart wasn't their only option.

"Not really," Serena said reluctantly, "But I couldn't live with myself if I led the Shadows to you."

"I know." Kyle sighed knowing that Serena would blame herself for anything that might could possibly happen to him. Whether she could prevent it or not. "But it don't sound right for us to have to stay apart. After all, how are we supposed to plan a wedding if we can't see one another?"

"Well, at least we can still call," Serena said. "Ami's trying a new way to try to locate the Shadows. If we can do that then we won't have to wait for them to attack again. We'll be able to try to go ahead and send them back to where ever they came from and close the dimensional doorway behind them."

Kyle closed his eyes at the thought of his fiancée going to look for the Shadow Scouts to fight them. He knew that it was something that Serena felt that she had to do but that didn't make it easier to face the possibilities of all that could entail. Instead Kyle focused on trying to help as much as he could with what limited knowledge he had.

"What I don't get is how come these Shadows waited until we came to Tokyo to attack you. Strategically, I would have thought that they would have preferred to strike while you were away from the other Scouts."

"I guess I hadn't thought about that. But you're right. If they would have attacked when we were home, I would have been a sitting duck. I wouldn't have been able to call for help or even transform," Serena said as she paused on the other end of the line. When she returned she said, "Maybe they couldn't track me when I was that far from Tokyo."

"Then couldn't we leave Tokyo? Just until your friends have gotten everything figured out?" Kyle asked in hopes of at least being able to see Serena again with his own eyes before she and her Scouts went into an all out battle with their counterparts from a parallel universe.

"I don't know. It still may not be safe," Serena said as she thought about what kind of danger Kyle could be in if Shadow Moon found him. "Besides, we couldn't do that tonight anyway. You have that banquet dinner for the merger," Serena said in an effort to distract Kyle from worrying about her.

"So I'll miss it," Kyle said with a shrug.

"Not so fast, MISTER!" Serena said with a small laugh. "I'm the only one that's allowed to be a flake in this relationship."

"Some flake," Kyle smirked, "You might have others fooled but I know you too well for that."

"And that's why I love you. I'll try to call you after you get done at work today before you head out for the evening," Serena said with a giggle.

"You'd better. Otherwise I'll be heading back over to Lita's. Shadow Scouts be damned," Kyle said as he walked toward the bathroom and caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror. He winced slightly since he could already hear the questions that would be coming his way today.

"I'll keep that in mind," Serena said as she prepared to say good-bye. "Meanwhile, stay safe. Just in case..."

"Stay safe huh? Don't worry, you fight the forces of evil, I just go swimming with the business sharks," Kyle joked. "Fortunately, right now there's no blood in the water."

"Very funny. I've got to go. Love ya," Serena said then hung up.

Kyle shook his head, "She's got folks shooting energy bolts at her and following her around and she tells ME to be safe." Kyle grabbed his shaving kit and chuckled. "I just hope that she takes her own advice."


	16. Disrupted Dinner

Later in the day in the Arakawa district, Kyle was trying to hurry out of the family's office building. Kyle had been avoiding his sister Wendy all day but it looked like she'd finally caught up to him at the end of the business day. When she did she was instantly concerned for her little brother when it was obvious that he'd had some sort of run in with a ruffian.

"Kyle? What happened to you?" Wendy asked as she walked up to her brother and turned his head to the side so that she could get a better look at Kyle's swollen jaw.

"It's nothing really," Kyle said as he pulled away from his sister's scrutiny.

Wendy eyed her brother then asked, "How did it happen?"

"To be honest I'm not exactly sure. I know I had a big part in it," Kyle said as he started to walk toward the elevators.

"Oh come on. What could you have done to cause that?"

"I tracked down Serena's ex and went and had a talk with him," Kyle confessed sheepishly. "I guess I said something that I shouldn't have and the next thing I knew we're both swinging."

"Oh my God! What did Serena say?" Wendy asked as she pulled Kyle to a stop.

"She doesn't know. She's spending a couple of days with her friends and family before we go back home," Kyle said which was true enough. He only hoped that it would ONLY be a couple of days. "I suppose I was wondering just what kind of ghosts Serena had in her past so I had to go check out this other guy. I was wrong but if I hadn't gone to meet him I'd have always wondered about him."

"You better hope that you heal fast. I don't think that Serena's going to like knowing that you went and tracked down her last boyfriend," Wendy said while shaking her head at her brother's foolishness. "So I'm guessing that she won't be at the banquet tonight?"

"They'll be other dinners," Kyle said with a shrug. "It's been a while since she's seen everyone here in Tokyo. And when we go back home there's no telling just when we'll make it back."

"Well, that might save your skin this time. But don't go off looking for trouble again. Serena's too good of a woman for you to go risk lousing it up," Wendy said with a light smack to the back of her brother's head.

/

Shadow Moon had informed the other Shadows of spying on the Darien of this plain of existence and learned that Sailor Moon had become engaged to the Kyle of this universe. Of course the other Scouts hadn't really believed it until Shadow Mercury brought up a clipping from a magazine up on her computer which showed the picture of the man in question with Serena.

"This still doesn't help us until we can find him. And you can bet that they've figured out how to keep him hidden after that run in with Tuxedo Mask yesterday," Shadow Mars said as she pulled away from Mercury's computer.

"Maybe, but there may be a way to trick Sailor Moon into thinking that we know where her fiancé is. She just may not think through our bluff." Shadow Moon said with grin.

"What makes you think that would work?" Shadow Jupiter asked.

"Because, she is me. Remember. All we have to do is rattle her," Shadow Moon said before leaning in toward the other Scouts to tell them what she had in mind. She then had Shadow Mercury look up on her computer just in what area of town that Kyle Garret's family had their office buildings. Then she had her look for any events that the Garrets would be involved with. Finding one, the Scouts began to make their plans.

/

Serena looked at the clock and saw that right about now Kyle was most likely getting ready to stand up to give a speech at the banquet that she had originally planned to be at. Instead she was listening to Lita tell her about her day in cooking school. She was studying to open her own restaurant one day which had been a dream of hers for years. Lita also was fixing dinner for her and Serena while showing her fellow foody just what dish had gotten her an outstanding grade in school.

"Now this is something that I've missed," Serena said as she leaned in to smell the food over the stove.

"And I've missed having my official taste tester here," Lita joked as she used the wooden spoon to stir the pot while she giggled at Serena's show of appreciation for the tantalizing smells coming from the stove. Then she glanced at her friend and considered before she spoke up again. "Serena, I know that you're planning to get married to Kyle and everything but are you planning on coming back to Tokyo? I mean I know that you're wanting to move on and everything but even after we get rid of the Shadows we never know when some other threat will show up."

"Lita, is this suppose to make me WANT to return to Tokyo for good?" Serena said as she stepped away from the stove.

"Serena, I'm just saying that we need you around here," Lita said as she turned the heat down on the stove and turned to watch her friend and leader walk toward her window and stare out of it.

"I hadn't planned on it." Serena said as she fiddled with her crystal on her pendant. "So you're not planning to talk me out of marrying Kyle? Everyone else seems to be doing that lately."

"Would it matter if I tried?" Lita asked matter of factly. When Serena turned to look at her and shook her head Lita continued, "Then why try? Besides, I've been thinking about what you said about how if the future can be changed then maybe it's supposed to be."

"Well that's refreshing. The whole time that you were at school today Rei was over here trying to convince me why I can't get married to anyone other than Darien," Serena said as she let out a sigh. She'd been prepared for another fight but was glad that she wouldn't be sparring with her friend. "From risking the possible Future Moon Kingdom to saying that if nothing else I had to marry Darien so that Rini could be born."

"Do you love him?" Lita asked as she dug around for some bowls. "I know that things have always been kind of rough between you and Darien and all. You kind of went on and off again a lot but when things were good they looked really good."

"But there just weren't enough of the good in the end," Serena said. "And as far as loving him, I can honestly say that I didn't. I thought I did but if I thought for one minute that there was anything still between us I wouldn't have agreed to marry Kyle. I wouldn't put him in the middle like that."

Lita opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted by her communicator chiming. "Lita, we need you and Serena to come and help us! The Shadows are attacking the Edogawa district. Hurry!" Came Mina's voice in a hurry before she closed the link.

"Edogawa!" Serena said in the concern. After all, the banquet was in that district. Serena wondered how Shadow Moon had traced Kyle so easily. "Let's go!"

/

Kyle and his family had gone all out for the dinner tonight to celebrate the merger that Kyle had helped to negotiate. The hall was decorated ornately and the guests had all worn their finest. Kyle fielded a few questions about where his soon-to-be wife was but Kyle merely repeated the same thing that he'd told his sister earlier in the day. After all, he couldn't exactly tell everyone that the reason that Serena wasn't here was because she was Sailor Moon and was currently concerned about leading the latest enemy to innocent bystanders. Of course questions about Serena weren't the only ones that he had to try to dodge. His swollen jaw caught more than one eye, to which Kyle had decided that the truth may not be the best thing for his reputation, so he just brushed it off as an accident at the gym.

Kyle waited until it was time to go to the podium that had been placed on a stage that had been erected for the occasion. He looked at his phone and figured that it wouldn't hurt to take a few minutes to call Serena before he went up to give his speech. Kyle glanced around and decided that it was a bit too noisy in the banquet hall to talk so he went out and slipped into an unused room nearby to make his call. He dialed the number to Serena's friend's house and waited as the phone rang. By the fourth ring Kyle was ready to hang up. That was when he felt the very ground beneath his feet begin to rock. At first he thought that it was an earthquake but when he caught sight of the window in the room he saw that the trees outside were unmoving. It was as if there wasn't even a slight breeze to move the limbs of the thin branched trees. That ruled out an earthquake. Kyle headed toward the door and opened it to find that everyone from the banquet hall were all running for their lives out of the meeting hall.

Kyle was pretty much trapped in the room since the stampede of diners was so fierce that there was no going out into the hall without risking being trampled. He turned back to look around for another way out of the room only to realize that the only other way out was the window. Which would have to be busted out since it was not designed to be opened.

"I sure would like to know what's going on," Kyle muttered to himself as he listened at the door to wait for the crowd to dissipate instead. When he opened the door once more, this time the hall was now empty, Kyle stepped out of the room that he'd only gone into to make a phone call and glanced around trying to decide what he should do next. It was when he heard a familiar voice that he made up his mind. Serena was in the banquet all. He started to head in that direction when another blast shook the building; throwing him off his balance and sending him to the floor. He looked up and saw that the roof didn't look as far above as him as it should have been. That was the last thing that Kyle thought about before darkness overtook him.


	17. A Glimpse of the Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter shows how Kyle fits into Serena's past. Note: This whole chapter is a flash back.

Kyle waited in the dark cramped nitch that he was tucked away in after the asteroid hit just outside of the Moon Kingdom's protective shield. Kyle and his family lived on the outer edges of the kingdom so the shock-waves from the asteroid hitting rocked his home from it's very foundation. Kyle had hoped that by now his father or mother would have come for him. He was hurt and scared. Still, no one came for him. Eventually, night fell and Kyle drifted off into a pain-filled sleep. When he woke up he was no longer in the wreckage of his home. Instead he was in a very fine room that looked far too clean and new for Kyle to still be on the outer edge of the kingdom.

"Good morning," Kyle heard as he turned his head and found a beautiful woman with long silver hair coming up to his bed in the medic room of the palace. "You are one lucky little boy."

Kyle blinked and took a look around the room. "Where am I?"

"You were brought to the palace after the search team found you. The medics took real good care of you, though," Serenity said as she sat beside the boy that could only be a couple of years older than her own daughter.

"Where's my mom? My dad?" Kyle asked as he sat up to see if he could get a better look around but couldn't see his parents among any of the others that had been brought into the medic room after the asteroid hit.

Queen Serenity's heart broke as she looked into the sad brown eyes of the small blond headed little boy. How could she tell him that neither of his parents had survived? "I'm sorry, son, but..." Kyle's eyes swelled up with tears as he waited for the woman in front of him to finish telling him what his heart was already telling him. Serenity reached out and pulled the boy close to her and held him as he began to quiver. From that day forward, Kyle lived in the palace as the Queen's charge. She couldn't just send the boy else where and she figured that it would do her daughter good to have another friend in the palace.

/

Five years later Kyle and Serena ran through the gardens together while hiding from their tutors. Both had stared at their books so long that their vision had blurred so they had decided to play hooky for the rest of the day. The palace guards had already been alerted to their disappearance since it seemed to be a common occurrence. Sometimes it'd be Kyle that would suggest the capers while other times it'd be the Princess that would become bored with her studies and would convince her friend to go along with her.

Running along the maze of the garden, the two children bit back some giggles as they passed by some of the Palace guards. Getting past them had always proved to be the most exciting part of their little adventures. Today was no different. This time it had been Serena's suggestion to ditch their studies since today she was supposed to start her special training on how to behave like a proper Princess.

"Do you think that we lost them?" A young eight year old Serena asked her best friend.

"I don't know. I think we might want to wait a bit longer before we sneak back out," A ten year old Kyle said as he peered through the bushes to check to see if there was anyone else around. "So what was it today?"

"Luna had gone on for about two hours on what type of behavior wouldn't be acceptable when being presented at Court," Serena said as she sat down on the ground and pulled her knees up . "I think I even fell asleep once while she was going on about it. What about you?"

"Artemis was going on about the importance of maintaining good relations with other kingdoms. Like the ones on Earth. Even if the two kingdoms don't see eye to eye on a lot of issues," Kyle said as he sat to join Serena on the ground. "After lunch he was supposed to have me study the Treaty with Earth's Kingdom of Nihon and the Moon Kingdom that had been negotiated in the city of Edo."

"Sounds boring," Serena groaned since she knew that she'd have to sit through that same lesson in due time.

"I agree. Especially with the way Artemis tells it," Kyle said as he finished settling down beside his companion. "I can't think of ANYONE that can drag out a lesson longer than he can."

"I can," Serena said with a giggle, "LUNA!"

"Did I hear my name?" The black feline asked as she leapt down in front of the two children.

"LUNA!" Both children exclaimed sheepishly. 

"Do you two realize that you've gotten everyone looking for you? Now, both of you, back to your lessons," Luna said while twitching her tail to show her displeasure had having to locate the young charges.

"But Luna! Can't we just stay out and play? Just for a little while?" Serena asked with a pout.

"I'm afraid not. Now come along," Luna then started to walk toward the garden's path knowing that the children would follow her. Kyle shrugged to Serena before getting to his feet then helping the Princess up as well. They then followed the Queen's advisor back inside of the palace.

/

Kyle waited for Serena to meet him after breakfast before her morning lessons so she could tell him about her first ball after being formally presented at court last night. He knew that she'd been nervous; convinced that she'd fall flat on her face at some point of the night. She had wanted him to go to the ball, too, so that she'd have at least one person in the banquet hall that wasn't waiting for her to do exactly that. Kyle knew that with Court-life came certain frustrations. Like the fact that a lot of those that was involved in Court-life were jealous of the Princess but wanted to stay as close to her as they could at the same time. He knew that Serena hadn't been fooled by those false friends. They only wanted to be in good with their future Queen. 

Kyle had face similar bouts of two-facedness as well. He was always reminded by various members of Court that he didn't really belong there. That he was still just a charity case that the Queen had taken in when he was little. Yet, since he was such good friends with Princess Serena, no one wanted him to tell either the Queen or Princess exactly was said when they were not around. Therefore few would take their taunting of him very far. Though he wouldn't have told the Queen or Princess in any case.

Finally, Serena came to meet him after breakfast and she told him of meeting the Princesses of the surrounding sub-kingdoms. One from Venus, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter. All of them were about her own age so last night had been their own first nights at a ball thrown at the Moon's Palace. Kyle listened as she rattled on about the other four girls and her first ball. Serena told him that she thought that he'd like the Princesses. Kyle smiled but thought to himself that there was only one Princess that he could see himself liking very much. He couldn't tell her that, of course, for two reasons. One, he'd never do anything that would put a strain on their friendship. Serena already had suitors starting to come from all around now that Serena was of age to begin accepting visits from possible matches for her but Serena had never indicated that she wished that he was among them. Two, he knew that he could never be considered as one of those suitors since, despite growing up in the palace, he was not of royal blood.

Kyle listened as Serena went on about nearly every detail of the grand affair and was glad that Serena had not been faced with her fears of tripping on her own dress and stumbling down the stairs. It was only when he heard Serena mention that she had danced half the night away with the Prince from one of the kingdoms on Earth that Kyle frowned. When she spoke of this Prince Darien she practically bubbled over with excitement. Kyle did his best to hide his discomfort as Serena told her best friend of her night with the dashing Prince. She never once suspected that Kyle would be jealous of the Prince. After all, Kyle was a good friend, she'd never even thought of him as anything more than that. 

When Serena finally headed off for her lessons of the day Kyle watched and felt as if he'd just lost his best friend. It wouldn't be long before she wouldn't need, or worse WANT, him around. Not to mention that who ever Serena ended up choosing as a suitor wouldn't likely be too keen on her having a male companion around. Kyle had already heard some of the talk that had been going about the palace when various suitors came to the palace and watched as he and the Princess would interact. Kyle knew that his days in the palace were numbered. In a way he'd always known that his friendship to the Princess would be short-lived. It was just a matter of time. 

Gathering up his sword, Kyle headed over towards where the practice battle ground was. He was still a little early for his lessons but he knew that the instructor wouldn't mind. He would allow him to practice even though he was already far better of a swordsman than most of the young men his age that had joined the Royal Guard. In fact, he was one of the very few of his skill level that had yet to be sent on assignment away from the palace. Kyle knew that the Queen likely had asked that he be kept close by to try to keep him from harm. She'd been very much like a mother to him ever since his parents' death. Still, Kyle knew that the time would soon come when he would not be kept so close at hand. It hurt to know that the day may not be quite so far away as he'd thought.

/

Kyle made his way to the Queen's chambers after being sent for personally. He wasn't sure what it was about but he partially hoped that she was planning to tell him that he was being reassigned to one of the outer posts. Each day it had become harder to see Serena without letting on just how much he loved her. Especially when the Prince from Earth came to visit her. Kyle couldn't help it, he just didn't like the guy. He wanted to think that the same would be true if Serena wasn't involve but Kyle knew that if he was honest with himself he'd admit that she had a large part in that dislike of the man. When Kyle was admitted into the Queen's outer chamber she came up to him just the same she always had since he was a small child.

"Kyle, I'm glad that you came," Serenity said as she hugged the man that was like a son to her. "I wanted to speak with you about an assignment that I have in mind for you."

"An assignment?" Kyle asked with a hint of a smile. A special assignment from the Queen was nothing to sneeze at. Nor would it be one to be taken lightly. 

"Yes, you've heard of Serena's upcoming trip to Earth?" Serenity asked knowing that her daughter would have already mentioned it to her friend.

"Of course, your Highness," Kyle said while getting a sinking feeling in his stomach about what his assignment will be.

"Well, I was hoping that you'd agree to being among Serena's escorts," Serenity said while giving the illusion that Kyle really had a choice in the assignment. "Her Scouts will be going along as well but I'll be sending a full squad to help protect my daughter on her trip."

"As you wish, but why me?" True, Kyle had wanted to be given more assignments away from the palace but this isn't what he'd had in mind.

"I need someone that knows Serena. Especially when she gets to the point where she's bored with the normal Court regimen," Serenity said as she invited Kyle to take a seat on one of the couches in the sitting room. "Someone who won't underestimate her. Considering you are the one that taught her how to ditch her guards when she was younger it only seems fitting that you'd be the one to be assigned to keep her safe while away from the palace. Plus, you know how she thinks, the Scouts are still learning and the other guards don't know her the way you do. I know that I can trust that she'll be safe with you watching after her."

"I appreciate your trust in me," Kyle said. He did, really. To be asked to watch after the Princess was an honor for any of the Royal guard. Still... "I'll make sure that she comes home safe and sound."

"I have no doubt that you will," Serenity said.

/

As planned, Kyle joined the Royal Expedition to Earth. He was assigned to be with Serena at any time that she was out of her private chambers; the Scouts being trusted to protect the Princess when she retired into the sanctuary that was assigned to her by the Royal family on Earth. While out and about, it didn't take long for the Prince to notice and become uncomfortable with the fact that Serena seemed very familiar with one of her protectors. He was even less comfortable with the fact that Serena was not content to allow Kyle to trail her much like her shadow on the ground that followed her. Seen but not heard from as the rest of the guards were. Serena would point out various things that she was sure that Kyle would enjoy when ever she came across them. 

On the third day of the Royal visit to the palace on Earth Kyle stood watch over Serena while she observed her Prince try to show off for her. He and his Generals sparred in front of various members of court. Kyle tried to hide his amusement at just how obvious it seemed to him that the Generals were in a habit of pulling back to make sure that the Prince didn't come off looking too badly. Apparently, Kyle hadn't hidden his opinion of the Prince's abilities as well as he'd thought since after one of the matches the Prince called out and suggested that he should test to see just how well protected his "LOVE" was by her Royal Guards. Once suggested, Serena seemed to enjoy the idea of watching both Kyle and the Prince spar. Kyle couldn't exactly refuse once Serena agreed to the mock battle but when he approached the Prince he let his mouth run away with him as he prepared to spar with the cocky Prince.

"Are you certain that you wish to do this Sire?" Kyle said just loud enough for the other man to hear him as he stood ready for the Prince to begin the match to see who was the better swordsman.

"Any reason that you wish not to?" Prince Darien asked as he lunged forward only to over shoot his opponent.

"I just figured that I should point out that I am not accustomed to taking it easy on my opponents. I will not succumb easily for the sake of allowing you to show off for the Princess," Kyle said as he easily parried Darien's next thrust of the sword. As they continued to spar, they did so with both swords and words.

"Trying to show off a bit yourself, are you?" Prince Darien asked since he'd like to know just where this guard stood with the woman that he was considering to make his Queen.

"Nope, I'm merely showing you what you asked. How well defended the Princess is from threats; regardless of where they come from," Kyle said as he side-stepped another blow and brought the broad side of his sword to the back of the Prince's armor to indicate a killing blow had this been an actual battle. To his credit, Kyle was able to wait until after he'd left the arena and had his back to the Prince before allowing himself to smile broadly at his small victory.

/

Kyle headed to his assigned area as the alarm sounded, despite it being his allotted down time. He had heard for weeks of the threat of an attack from the faction that had pulled away from the rest of the Moon Kingdom. Kyle had even been told that the traitor, Beryl, had garnered support on Earth for her push to claim the Kingdom of the Moon as her own. Somehow, he was wasn't surprised to see the Generals from the Kingdom that he'd escorted Serena to while visiting the Prince there present at his last battle. The only thing that did surprise him was that the Prince was said to not be among his trusted advisors at any of the battles as Beryl pushed for her claim on the Moon Kingdom.

Kyle ran as fast as he could toward the southern wall of the palace where he was to be stationed in case of the unthinkable. That the outer perimeters are breached and the enemy begins an offensive assault on the very heart of the Silver Millennium Moon Kingdom. As he neared his post he spied someone that he'd know anywhere. He also knew that no one from Earth was supposed to be on the Moon right now. Kyle drew his sword and quietly made his way to intercept the intruder. When he approached the Prince spun and faced him with his own weapon drawn.

"What are you doing here?" Kyle asked with all the authority he could summon into his voice. "All diplomatic visitors were sent back to Earth nearly a month ago."

"I came to make sure that Serena is alright," Prince Darien said barely able to force himself to answer the man that he'd considered a rival for the Princess's affections. "The moon isn't safe anymore for her."

"And you think that she'd be safer with you?" Kyle asked as he listened as his comrades all continued to their posts while he and the Prince were in the shadows. 

"With what's on it's way, anywhere would be safer at this point," Darien said gruffly. "Or don't you care that Beryl is on her way here even as we speak?" 

Kyle studied the man in front of him and saw the panicked look on the Prince's face. "Don't EVER doubt that I only want what's best for Serena," Kyle said, forgetting momentarily to refer to her as 'The Princess' and using her name instead. The ground then rocked as yet more alarms were sounded. He was needed on the front line but he also knew that despite what ever the guards could do out here on the palace walls that Serena was in danger. "She should be in the solarium. Get her out of here. Take her to the second moon of Mars. There's an emergency transport hidden under the gardens. Serena will know how to get to it," Kyle said, trusting the man to do what was necessary. He only hoped that the prideful Prince would get to Serena in time and be able to convince her to leave while she could. If she'd leave with anyone it'd be with Prince Darien.

Kyle reached his post to find that chaos had already erupted in full force. He leapt into battle with a personal goal in mind. To delay the progression of the enemy troops for as long as possible. He had to give Serena time to be evacuated. In no time at all every muscle in his body protested the extended rigorous workout. Both sweat and blood dripped from him as he continued to fight despite various injuries that he'd already sustained since leaving the Prince behind in the shadows of the corridors leading toward the Royal Chambers. As other guards began to fall off to the side, collapsing either through exhaustion or by the sword of an enemy, Kyle continued to try to fight. But as his comrades decreased in numbers the enemy only seemed to increase. Finally, he was face with trying to hold off four other swordsmen at one time. He was tired and sore and after the long hours of battle he was no longer a match for fresh opponents. 

Kyle's last thought as he realized that he'd been ran through was that he hoped that Serena was no longer on the moon. That she had fled the kingdom with the Prince of her choice, safely heading toward Phobos. Kyle then let out one last breath with only one word on his lips.

"Serena."


	18. Scout Face-off

Kyle started to wake up with a terrible headache. He shook his head, trying to clear it of the strange dream that he'd had while out, to little affect. At first he couldn't remember where he was but the sounds of the shouting down in the not too far off distance helped to remind him of the battle that he'd heard just before he'd been knocked out. Kyle shifted to remove some of the debris that had fallen on him and carefully stood to his feet while trying to stop the spinning of the room around him. When the floor rocked beneath him he struggled to stay vertical as he finally made his way to where the banquet was to have been held that night. Instead of a grand gala event only destruction seemed to have been left behind. Tables and chairs were overturned and there was even a gaping hole where the outside wall once stood. Kyle raced over to the vacant area in the wall and looked out over the courtyard area just outside of the building and watched as mirror images of the Sailor Scouts all engaged in battle.

Down below, the Scouts all squared off as they continued to send energy bolts of various kinds at their counterparts. Though a physical confrontation was not beyond the limits of the fight, either. Especially for the Jupiters and Marses of the groups. Kyle could not hear much of what the women were all saying beyond their tone since he was still pretty far up from the ground. He honed in on Sailor and Shadow Moon as they both fought; magically and physically. Try as he might, Kyle couldn't tell just which one of the women was his Serena. From so far up they both looked identical. Kyle tried to see if there was a safe way to get down to the ground from the gaping hole that he now stood in but couldn't see anything helpful. He wanted to help if he could but part of him just couldn't bear to pull himself away from his watching post. Kyle warred within himself as he tried to decide just what to do.

Sailor Moon faced off with Shadow Moon while the evil counterpart continued to demand for the Silver Moon Crystal. "This is your last chance. If you want to see your fiancé again then give me that crystal."

Serena fought a panic as she stood opposite of her opponent. She knew that the Shadows traced Kyle here. The evidence was the missing wall that stood just behind the stage that had been erected where Kyle would have stood to deliver his speech. Still, part of her refused to believe that they'd actually taken him anywhere. After all, if they had, would all five of them still be here?

"I'm not stupid enough to hand over the crystal without seeing him," Sailor Moon said as she regained her footing from having been sent to the ground by her opponent.

"You are in no position to make demands," Shadow Moon said as menacing as she could. She couldn't believe that Sailor Moon wasn't handing over the crystal. "If you won't hand it over then I'll just have to take it!" Shadow Moon then started to gather some dark energy to send towards Sailor Moon. She was getting tired of waiting for the crystal. If Sailor Moon wouldn't hand it over when she thought that Kyle was in danger then Shadow Moon wondered just what it would take to convince the other woman to give her what she wanted.

The other Sailor Scouts all saw that Shadow Moon was preparing to hit their leader with a dangerous amount of dark energy. Unfortunately, none were close enough to leap to protect her. All of them were still in heated battles with the Shadows and were barely holding their own. Sailor Mars's eyes widened as she realized that Sailor Moon was about to take a hard hit. She tried to go and help her but Shadow Jupiter increased her own attack. Out of the corner of her eye she then saw as Sailor Moon was knocked to the ground, just ahead of the energy blast. In addition, a streak was seen going right in front of Shadow Moon. When the streak came to rest, it was seen to be a single red rose.

Shadow Moon looked sharply up to see Tuxedo Mask. He was standing off to the side and preparing for battle by starting a stand off with the evil woman. She then glanced back to where Sailor Moon had stood moments earlier. If Tuxedo Mask wasn't the one that had knocked the Sailor Scout out of the way then who did?

Over where Sailor Moon was now at she was no longer alone. Once both she and her rescuer came to rest from their tumble Sailor Moon found herself looking at Kyle's back as he squatted in front of her. Facing toward Shadow Moon, using his own body as a shield to protect Sailor Moon.

"She said that you were..." Sailor Moon started only to say only to have Kyle interrupt her.

"She lied," Kyle said just as Tuxedo Mask attacked Shadow Moon. "I'll explain later."

Sailor Moon nodded then stood and prepared to renew her own attack since she now knew for certain that Shadow Moon didn't have Kyle off somewhere that Serena could never find if she'd crossed the Shadow Princess. When she did there was nothing that Kyle could do but watch as she sent a concentrated beam of light toward her doppelganger.

That signaled the retreat of the Shadows which quickly left Kyle to face Serena/Sailor Moon's Scouts and her ex-boyfriend. First though, he gave Serena a once over to make sure that she wasn't hurt. She didn't seem to be, though he wondered how used to covering up any injuries in front of the others Serena was. Kyle figured that he wouldn't know for sure that Serena was okay until after the others were gone.

"What happened? Shadow Moon said that she'd already captured you and wouldn't return you until after I gave her the Moon Crystal," Sailor Moon said as she hugged Kyle, grateful that he was alright after all.

"Beats me. I left the banquet hall, I was going to call you before everything really got going," Kyle said as he slipped his arm around his fiancée. "When I couldn't get you on the phone I got ready to head back in but the whole building shook. Then all hell broke loose."

Tuxedo Mask narrowed his glare at the man that was now way too close to Sailor Moon. "Well obviously, they were here for you. I'd suggest that you leave Tokyo as soon as possible. Otherwise, they'll be back and this time you might not be quite so lucky."

"Not without Serena," Kyle said as he tightened his arm slightly around Sailor Moon. "After all, I'm not the one they were really after."

"Serena wouldn't be in as much danger if you weren't around," Tuxedo Mask said as he glanced around to be sure that no one from inside had ventured to where the battle had take place yet.

"Kyle, they know where to find you now so maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea for you to leave Tokyo." Sailor Moon shuddered at the thought about what could have happened had Kyle not left the banquet hall when he did.

"They also know where to find you, too. Which means that they'll be back. Whether I'm around or not." Kyle then turned slightly to look at the Scouts. "I thought that it's your job to keep Sailor Moon safe. What do you think would be the safest? Stay here with a certainty that those Shadows will be attacking or having her go back to where she'd been safe for nearly a year where she wasn't ONCE attacked?"

"You don't know what you're talking about," Sailor Mars said, quite offended that this man was trying to tell her her business. "This isn't like anything that you'd understand."

"I can understand that Serena's not been in town for even a week and she's already been drug into the same life that she'd wanted out of," Kyle said with his eyes flashing. "Just because I don't have some magical powers doesn't mean that I can't think logically. If you are supposed to keep both Serena and her crystal safe and these Shadows have only been attacking here in Tokyo then it seems to me that the only LOGICAL thing to do would be to get both her and the crystal out of town."


	19. A Decision to Leave Tokyo

Kyle eyed each of the Scouts as well as Tuxedo Mask as they each tried to find an argument against his logic. He hoped that they wouldn't find one. It was Sailor Mercury that spoke first.

"It's true that Sailor Moon didn't face any threats while she was missing but there is nothing to suggest that the Shadows wouldn't be able to follow her now that they've been able to trace her here in Tokyo."

"And there's nothing to say that they can neither," Kyle pointed out. "But when it comes to whether or not Serena's safe here in Tokyo, I believe that the attacks in the last two days have answered that question."

"Kyle may be right," Sailor Jupiter said thoughtfully. "But if he isn't then we'll need to make sure that Serena is still safe."

"Guys, I am still here, you know," Sailor Moon said as she frowned. She didn't want to have everyone talking as if she wasn't there and couldn't understand what was going on for herself.

"Sorry," Kyle said as he pulled Sailor Moon in for another half-hug from his place beside of her. "What do you think you should do then? What do you want?"

Serena paused to think about just what she WANTED since she hadn't really been thinking that anyone would ask her that. "Well, I.."

"We need Sailor Moon in Tokyo with the rest of the Scouts," Tuxedo Mask said from where he stood. What he wanted to add was that they DIDN'T need HIM around with Serena to louse things up. "Otherwise, when the Shadows attack again we'll be …"

"Don't say outnumbered," Kyle said. "Because I counted five of them and without Serena there's STILL five of you. Plus wasn't there something about some Generals that came to help fight against the Shadows."

Tuxedo Mask glared at the man since that was precisely what he'd been planning to say. He knew that Sailor Moon wouldn't leave her friends in a bind if he was able to point it out that they needed her around. "This doesn't concern you," Tuxedo Mask said as he concentrated on Sailor Moon. "We need to get out of here. Folks are showing up to see what's been going on."

Sailor Moon glanced toward the building where people were indeed starting to filter from it toward the makeshift battle area. "We'd better go," Sailor Moon said before looking up at Kyle. "And people will be looking for you inside. I'll be by to see you later."

Serena reached up to give Kyle a peck on the cheek then she and the others all disappeared. Though not before Tuxedo Mask seemed to growl under his breath at his competition.

/

Later that night Kyle waited to see if Serena would be heading back to the hotel or not. He knew that her friends would do their best to convince her that they needed her around here but to him it just seemed too dangerous. If they were supposed to keep Serena safe, to Kyle, it looked like they were going about it the wrong way. It shouldn't be Serena that was worried about keeping her protectors safe.

Kyle wished that he could do more than just sit and wait to see if Serena would be staying in a town that she'd ran from less than a year ago or if she intended to go back home with him. One thing that he did know, though, he wasn't leaving town without Serena. If the Scouts and Serena's ex with a bad tuxedo convince Serena to stay in town then he was staying too.

Looking over at the clock, Kyle figured that Serena wasn't coming to the hotel with him after all. It was already after two in the morning so he reluctantly climbed into bed and tried to get some sleep. He had a busy day of pretending that he had no idea of what had happened tonight at the banquet ahead of him. After all, he wasn't supposed to know anything about the Sailor Scouts or anything else along those lines.

When Kyle started to drift off, his sleep was haunted by dreams similar to the ones that he'd had when he'd gotten knocked out over at the banquet dinner. He dreamt of a palace, of sword training, and of royalty. With Serena being the Princess. Kyle couldn't believe that he could only seem to dream of a time long since past. He supposed that all of the talk about Serena being the Moon Princess had put the suggestion in his head. Kyle woke up just before sunrise and saw that Serena had come in sometime after he'd drifted off. Grinning, Kyle put an arm around his fiancée and hugged her tight to him. Glad that she'd at least come back to the hotel for the night. Even if her friends did convince her to not to go back home with him later in the day.

Serena snuggled closer to the warmth beside of her as she herself became lost in dreams as well. She was used to having her dreams plagued by memories of the past. Usually back when she would want to dream of her and Darien together. It always seemed more romantic to think of them both back on the Moon than it usually did to think about the mundane present. Tonight, though, it wasn't Darien that she focused on. Tonight she saw bits and pieces that she'd never dreamed of before. There was her on the Moon, of course, but what she hadn't expected was to see someone that looked an awful lot like Kyle. He appeared to be one of the Palace Guards. But not just any guard. Serena felt like she knew him a lot better than she did the rest of the guards. She could see herself and the man that reminded her of her fiancé talking for hours on end, picking and joking with one another like she could never remember doing with Darien. In EITHER life-time.

When Serena woke up, she saw that Kyle seemed to be watching her while she slept. "Morning."

"Morning. I wasn't sure if you were coming back to the hotel or not last night," Kyle said as he brushed Serena's hair out of her eyes.

"Well, there didn't seem any reason to stay away anymore. Not now that the Shadows know who you are. At least for the night," Serena said as she buried her face in Kyle's chest. "What time is it anyway?"

"About six-thirty," Kyle said with a slight chuckle as Serena groaned. After going to bed so late she didn't think that she'd be awake until at least noon. "So, what was decided after all of you left out last night?" Kyle asked after he waited for Serena to get her bearings together.

"Well," Serena said as she sat up in the bed next to Kyle. For her it was still too early to be awake after going to bed so late. "The others did have a good point about one thing." Kyle cocked his brow and waited for Serena to finish. "As long as you're in town, you're vulnerable. Since, as you pointed out, you don't have any magical protection, the Shadows could really do some damage to you if they wanted."

Kyle gritted his teeth, knowing that there was nothing he could say in his defense as far as the lack of magic was concerned. And he wasn't likely to just develop any out of thin air either. "What about you? They've attacked twice in as many days with the purpose of trying to get you to surrender your crystal. Somehow I don't think that they'll stop just because I leave town."

"No, they won't." Serena acknowledged. "But there's no reason for you to put yourself in danger. You could go home and..."

"I've got plenty reason, Serena," Kyle said firmly. "If you're staying then so am I."

"Somehow I had the feeling that you were going to say that," Serena said with a smile. "I told the Scouts that I'd be going back home for a week or two. Just to test the theory that the Shadows can't track me and the crystal if I'm out of town. Hopefully when I come back we'll have something figured out on how to send them back to their own dimension."

"Alright," Kyle said as he already began to move various meetings that he knew that he'd have in that time-frame around in his head. If Serena was coming back to Tokyo she wasn't coming back alone. "Sounds fair enough."

"I just plan to go say good-bye to my parents while you handle that press conference today," Serena said with a smile since she could tell that Kyle had already forgotten about it. The conference was originally planned to be used to officially announce the completion of the two companies merging into one. Instead there were bound to be lots of questions about the appearance of the Sailor Scouts the night before along with questions about anything that could be released about just why the banquet might have been targeted by the Scouts' opponents.

"I think I'd best start practicing my 'I don't have a clue' look then," Kyle said while eying the clock. Right now he was starved since dinner had been a complete wash last night and he'd been too worried about Serena to eat once he'd gotten back to the hotel last night. "Right after breakfast." Kyle reached for the phone to call up some room service.

/

Later that day, Serena and Kyle flew out of Tokyo and left the Scouts and the Shadows behind. At least temporarily. While riding on the private jet, Kyle couldn't help but think about the fact that in less than two weeks Serena would be expected to return to help her friends fight against an evil threat that seemed to be the biggest threat to his fiancée than to anyone else ever had been. He started to think on how he could help Serena win even if neither she nor her friends believed that he should get involved.

"Serena, I've been thinking," Kyle said quietly as he made sure that none of the plane's staff was close enough to ease drop.

"What about?" Serena asked as she noticed the tone that Kyle spoke with.

"Back when you were in Tokyo on a full time basis, did you and the others ever train much to make sure that you didn't get hurt badly when fighting these...Creatures?"

"Are you kidding?" Serena groaned at the memory of Luna's training methods. "Luna would have us training even when there hadn't been a threat around for months. And if Luna wasn't pushing for it then Lita or Rei were. WHY?" Serena asked learily.

"Well, seeing as how you're going to be fighting again, not to mention it's been a while since you've done any training..." Kyle started while getting the feeling that Serena was shooting daggers at him already for what he was about to suggest. "Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to brush up a little before you go back to Tokyo."

"I thought that you didn't like the idea of me going back to fight?" Serena asked just a bit confused.

"I don't. But I like the idea of you doing it unprepared even less," Kyle said as he lifted Serena's face up to look at him. "If I can't keep you from facing these Shadows, the least I can to is to make sure that you won't be worse for the experience. I figure that maybe you could show me what you got at the gym. Maybe I can give you a few pointers."

"So you're going to become my own personal trainer then, huh?" Serena asked not sure if she was going to like this idea or not.

"I can make sure that you stay motivated," Kyle said with a wink. "Just humor me a couple of times."

"Only a couple. I'm not promising anything past that," Serena said as she settled back into her seat to enjoy the rest of the flight.

"That's all I ask," Kyle then pulled Serena closer to him.


	20. Training to return

Kyle led Serena into the one room in the entire apartment that Serena had never been too inclined to peek into. The gym that Kyle had set up when he'd first moved into the apartment. He found that it was easier to work out when ever he had the time by having his own gym here at home rather than having to drive all of the way to town when he wanted to burn off some extra energy. He had everything that he needed for as an intensive workout as he wanted. When Serena walked into the room, her eyes drifted over to one wall that was just one plexiglass case after another. Inside those glass cases were swords on display from nearly every country and every era. Serena eyed the swords and lifted an eyebrow at Kyle who only shrugged in response.

"Some men collect the heads of dead animals to hang on their walls, I collect swords," Kyle shrugged.

"Do you think that you've got enough?" Serena asked with giggle. On the wall there were Ancient Roman swords, Japanese Kantanas, English Broad swords, Curved Arabian swords, Spanish Gladius Hispaniensis, a Scottish Claymore, and several others that Serena couldn't hope to guess what they were. She even saw a seven-branched sword from the Baekje Dynasty. "Why would you have a wall full of swords in here?"

"I've been obsessed with swords for as long as I can remember," Kyle said as he walked over toward where he had some boxing gear stored. "When I was little I pestered my folks for a sword for so long, they finally got a practice sword for me. Of course it was so dull it wouldn't slice through a stick of butter; even if you heated it up first."

"And here I would have been happy if my parents would have given me an Easy-bake Oven," Serena said with smile. "And here you went and asked your parents for a freaking SWORD!"

"Yeh, well, once my folks realized that it wasn't just a passing phase they enrolled me in Kenjutsu classes. They figured that if I was going to want to have a sword or two around that I'd best know how to handle it," Kyle said as he found what he'd been looking for.

"You've taken Sword Training Classes?" Serena asked impressed.

Kyle nodded as he handed Serena his head gear and gloves. "Here, put these on."

"Wait a minute!" Serena said with a bit of a squeal since she wanted to hear more about Kyle's interest in swords before delving into the training that she'd promised to give a try. "I want to hear more about how you suckered your folks into paying for sword training."

"Like I said, I've been obsessed with swords since before I can remember. I was just lucky enough to have parents that could do what they did for me. Now..."

"Which is the best sword then?" Serena said as she left the head gear and gloves behind as she walked over to the glassed in wall to look over the variety of swords that Kyle had accumulated over the years.

Shaking his head, Kyle left the gear behind as he walked over to where Serena was. Knowing that she wasn't going to settle into a workout until her curiosity was satisfied. "There's no such thing as a sword type that's better than the others. Just different swords designed for different things. And you have to learn the proper way to handle each kind. You can't handle a rapier the same way you would a Japanese Kantanas. It's all about respecting the weapons for what they are."

Serena grinned at Kyle's explanation, "And let me guess, you've learned how to handle each one of these swords. Haven't you?"

"There'd be no point in having them if I didn't," Kyle said as he leaned against the wall while Serena kept walking from one display to another.

"What's that one?" Serena asked as she pointed to one that seemed to be a broken sword.

"That's one that I bought last year," Kyle answered.

"But it's broken. Why would you want a broken sword?" Serena asked.

"Because it's rumored to have once belonged to Sir Galahad."

"Oh come on, Sir Galahad never really existed," Serena said turning to face Kyle to see if he was just trying to have a little fun with her.

"You're right. He's right up there with Sailor Moon, the Moon Princess and magical guardians that are supposed to protect the Earth." Kyle said with smirk. "Besides, that sword's the kind that I'd always pictured in my head when I'd ask my parents when I was little for a sword. So last year I finally got it for myself."

"But do you really believe that it belonged to Galahad?" Serena asked as she turned back to look into the glass cases.

"I think that it's more possible that it wasn't rather than did but I still liked it anyway," Kyle said as Serena walked toward another case in his collection.

"This one looks a lot like mine," Serena pointed to one in the glassed in case.

"You have a sword?" Kyle asked with his own interest perked now.

"Well, I did..." Serena trailed off as she remembered the Sword of Sealing. Shaking her head, Serena figured that it'd be best not to dwell on it. Eying another sword, "And that one reminds me of Sailor Uranus's Space Sword."

"Sailor Uranus?" Kyle asked since Serena had only mentioned four Scouts; Uranus not being one of them.

"Yes, she's one of the Outer Scouts. She, Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn. Though they usually only show up in dire situations." Serena said with a shrug. "I've not seen any of them in a long time."

"But if you are the Princess, can't you just call on them to help you out with the Shadows?" Kyle asked figuring that if he could give his fiancée an alternative then maybe she wouldn't have to put herself in danger.

"Well, I was never able to really call on them. They just sort of showed up when they were needed," Serena said with a shake of her head. "But like I said, I haven't seen them in a long time."

"Oh, I see." So much for that thought, Kyle thought to himself.

"Alright, so what do you want to start with?" Serena asked as she turned away from the glass wall.

"Well, I seem to remember getting out some gear earlier so that you can show me what you've got." Kyle chuckled at the suddenness that Serena became all business again. "We can start there."

"Good, the faster that we get started the faster we can get finished." Serena said as she headed over to where she'd dropped the boxing gear and picked it up. "And just so that you can't say that you haven't been warned, I'm better at fighting than you might think."

"Is that so?" Kyle said with a chuckle. "Prove it."

"Na-uh." Serena said with a grin. "What do I get for playing along?"

"I should have known that this training session was going to come at a price," Kyle laughed. "Alright, give me an hour and the rest of the day is yours."

"Deal," Serena said as she pulled the gloves on, "Cause when we get done I want to see you show off with them swords."

"If I thought that you would be this interested in the swords before, I would have brought you in here before now," Kyle said with a wink. "I sort of thought that you'd think it was weird."

"After all that you've learned about me in the last few weeks, you thought that THIS would come off weird?" Serena giggled.

/

Darien walked into the arcade and fell into a booth as he waited for his friend to show up for work. Andrew had worked here for years and now managed the arcade. Darien was feeling blue and figured that he needed to talk to his long-time friend. He wasn't sure just how much good it would do for him to talk to Andrew since the majority of what was bothering him he couldn't even talk to his friend about. How could he explain that he was upset about Serena defying fate and going off and finding some guy that couldn't possibly protect her when the forces of darkness attacked. Hell, he'd never even told his buddy that he was Tuxedo Mask. He was so lost in his thoughts that he'd never even realized that someone had joined him at the table until she spoke up.

"Worried about Serena?" Rei asked from across the booth.

Darien looked up and saw the young woman that he knew cared for Serena more than she let on. "It shows?"

"Just a bit," Rei said with a nod. "I'm worried too but I guess there's nothing that we can do for right now. At least she did agree to come back after a couple of weeks. So she won't be away this time for several months."

"Yes, but when she comes back she'll be bringing back that guy that she's marrying too," Darien said while breathing out in frustration. "Maybe if I hadn't kept pushing her away she would have never of left in the first place. Then she wouldn't be planning to get married to that rich snob from up north."

"Don't be hard on yourself. You were only looking out for her," Rei said for both Darien and herself. After all, she'd been blaming herself too. Not only for Serena's taking off but for her possible altering of the future as well.

"Thanks," Darien said with a small smile. "I haven't been this worried about losing Serena to anyone in along time. Even with Seiya I figured that it was a crush. But now... If Serena marries this guy where does that leave the future of the Moon Kingdom?"

"From what Serena said, I don't think she believes that what she does now will affect the thirtieth century," Rei said with a sigh. She and the other Scouts had talked to her about the possibilities and she never once swayed from her belief that destinies and fate could be molded by the individual.

"But what if she's wrong?" Darien asked. "Rei, have you had any visions lately?"

"No, but then, Luna said that even Pluto hasn't been able to get any about the future now either," Rei said as she shook her head.

"That doesn't sound promising," Darien said frowning. "Look, if you hear from Serena, let me know. Okay?"

"Sure," Rei said as she stood up. She could see Andrew coming over so she figured that she'd best be leaving. "But everything's going to be alright. We've been to the future, remember? So what ever seems to be going on now, everything has to turn out alright. We have to hold on to that."

"I'll try to keep that in mind," Darien said as he bade the woman good-bye. He certainly hoped that everything would work out the way that it should.


	21. A fortune told

Shadow Venus hovered over Darien as he slept. She could sense just how deeply he felt for Sailor Moon. Just as she could sense the incredible amount of jealousy he had in regards to her new boyfriend. The Shadow Scout finished what she came to do then slipped out of the apartment unseen. Now all that she and the other Shadows would have to do is wait. Because now, it will be Prince Darien that will get them the Moon Crystal. It was just a matter of time.

/

In the week after Serena had left Tokyo, she had worked with Kyle everyday to help her get back into fighting shape. Once, Serena had even pointed out that she was much stronger as Sailor Moon. She had figured that it might would be more helpful if she transformed into her alter ego to train. After all, there haven't been many times that she needed to fight as Serena. Kyle had rejected the idea, though, for two reasons. One, he didn't want Serena to always depend on magic to protect herself. Two, they had gone a whole week without the Shadows locating them and he didn't want to risk handing them where they were by activating the crystal. After all, they had no idea of just how they were able to find the Scouts in Tokyo.

Today, Serena looked at the clock and knew that Kyle would be home soon. At which time she knew that they would train for an hour so she headed on into the gym ahead of him. Part of her hated knowing that he held back so much when he helped her train. Still, another part of her was glad that Kyle was worried about her enough to make sure that she could protect herself when he wasn't around. And she had to admit, training had never been so much fun before. She and Kyle were able to joke around while working out and if she goofed it was refreshing that no one was there to yell at her or look disapprovingly at her for doing a stupid move. Kyle would let her chastise herself, mainly out of habit of trying to beat any of the other Scouts to the punch, then would laugh off any mistakes and help her start over with whatever they had been working on.

When Serena walked into the large at-home-gym her eyes drifted over to the wall of swords as they always did when she first came into the room. Ever since she'd learned of the swords she kept dreaming of Kyle on the Moon. No, that wasn't true, she'd started dreaming of that even before she'd known of Kyle's penchant for the blade. In a way, she'd like to ask Luna if she could remember anyone that could have been Kyle on the Moon. Some part of her had began to believe that her dreams were actually memories. If they were, then it seemed that she and Kyle had a closer bond than she had thought. She could see them growing up together; even running from Artemis and Luna as children. She could even see Kyle at her side while attending various functions of Court. Though he didn't come off as having been an aristocrat. Still, once she got past the memories that revolved around her and Darien, every single one of her memories that seemed important included Kyle in them on some level.

Serena walked over to the bokkens that Kyle had shown her yesterday. The bokken is a wooden training tool for those interested in learning the use of a sword. Once Kyle heard that Serena had been forced to use a sword in the past, untrained, he figured that it wouldn't hurt to at least go over some basics of sword training with her, too, in addition to the hand to hand combat that he'd been helping her with. Serena had actually enjoyed their first session with the bokkens yesterday. She felt like she was ten years old again and playing with Sammy with the mop and broom handles. It would never cease to amaze her how much training with Kyle didn't seem like work. Even though she had learned more in the last week about self-defense than she had in more than three years as a Sailor Scout. Serena grabbed up one of the wooden swords and started to go through the movements that Kyle had shown her the day before.

"Looks like you've started without me," Serena heard from the doorway after she'd been working with the sword long enough to work up a fine sheen of sweat. She looked up and saw Kyle leaning against the door-frame.

"What can I say?" Serena said as she lowered the practice sword. "I thought that if I started early then maybe we could head out to the carnival tonight."

"I forgot that it's first night was tonight," Kyle walked over and snatched up the second bokken. "How about you show me what you've been working on. Then we'll call it a day, seeing as how you seemed to have already been working out for a while."

"Great," Serena said as she waited just until Kyle had the practice sword in his hand. "Heads up," Serena said while swinging her own weapon with a giggle.

"Cute," Kyle said as he ducked the cheap shot. "You're going to pay for that one."

"I doubt it," Serena gave a wink before she moved away and out of Kyle's reach while she waited for Kyle to retaliate.

/

Kyle strolled through the small carnival with Serena and made their way from one ride to another. There were the typical carnival rides as well as some that Serena and Kyle hadn't seen in a place like this before. Including various types of 3-D rides. And of course, there were the usual booths that would line up the walk ways between the rides. The two dined on the fattening fair food knowing that it would be a while before they could expect a treat like the simple pleasures of deep fried foods that were frequently devoured at carnivals. Serena took satisfaction in knowing that her increased workouts lately would keep the food from affecting her waist line and she already knew that Kyle had nothing to worry about when it came to unwanted pounds, neither.

As they moved through the small booths Serena spotted one that caught her eye. It was a booth that was set up as a new age type of a fortune telling booth. On the tiny sign just outside of the closed in tent of a booth it read that the woman who ran kiosk would read a person's palm, read their future in tea leaves and even could assist in past life regressions. It was the last one that peaked Serena's interest. She had already been told what had been in her past but her recent dreams had her wondering about Kyle's previous lives.

"Something wrong?" Kyle asked when he noticed Serena's hesitation to move on to the next area in the carnival.

"I was thinking...Have you ever thought about what you might have been in a past life?" Serena asked as she nodded toward the booth.

Kyle eyed the tent and thought about what Serena was asking him. Had it been a year ago he would have just said that he didn't believe in that sort of stuff. But since then he has met Serena and been drug into a world of magic, evil adversaries that wanted to take over the world by using a crystal of a long dead Queen and meeting up with those who had once been guardians of a previous time that now were taking up that mantle once again. Not to mention that there were the odd dreams lately.

"Not really. And after seeing how knowing has affected your life I'm not sure I'd want to know," Kyle said honestly.

"Oh come on. Wouldn't it be cool if we knew one another before?" Serena said as she started to tug Kyle in the direction of the fortune teller's tent.

"Isn't knowing each other in this life time enough?" Kyle asked since he was almost afraid to know who he was in what ever past that he might have been a part of.

"Please?" Serena said with her best smile. "Just for me?"

Kyle shook his head as he let himself be pulled along toward the booth. "I can't believe I'm doing this," Kyle said with a chuckle.

"Well, it's only fair. You know what I was before, I should know what you were," Serena said she knocked on the outside of the booth to get the fortune teller's attention.

"As you wish, you're Majesty!" Kyle teased with a grand bow. Serena gave him a light smack on the arm in response.

"May I help you?" An old woman asked as she came out from the back area of her booth.

"My fiancé would like to have a past life regression performed," Serena said excitedly.

"Is that true?" The woman asked Kyle.

"I might as well. Otherwise I don't think I'll hear the end of it," Kyle said with a shrug. "So, what do we do?"

"If you'll come on in, we'll get started once you've gotten comfortable," The old woman said as she led Kyle and Serena into the back area of her booth.

Once Kyle was fully under the hypnotic trance the fortune teller began to take Kyle through the routine of going through the years of the past. When Kyle stopped sometime in the middle ages Serena felt a bit of a disappointment. It wasn't the Moon Kingdom like she had hoped. Serena listened as Kyle mentioned someone named Lady Elaine of Corbenic. By the sounds of it she must have been his mother. Though no mention of a father was spoken of. When the fortune teller asked about him Kyle would become agitated so the woman moved on. There was also the mention of visiting a King Evelake and helping him on some sort of mission. While talking in the trance Kyle hinted at a knighthood, to which Serena had to smile. He may not have been on the Moon as her dreams had shown her but Kyle had still been a knight. And now he was her knight, even if he didn't have on shining armor.

As the fortune teller had Kyle to finish talking about his time on the European continent she then asked if Kyle could remember anything from before that time period. When Kyle said that he did, Serena was surprised to learn that she would get to hear not only of one previous lifetime but of another one as well.

"Tell me where you are," The old woman said as she continued to lead the young man through his memories of time periods long since past.

"I'm at a palace," Kyle said slowly since his speech was still affected by the trance.

"A palace? Who are you?"

"An orphan... I was raised by the Queen," Kyle said in-between deep breaths.

Serena's head shot up as she renewed her interest in the past life regression session. She dug into her purse and found a piece of paper and pen and wrote a question on the paper.

"The Queen," The fortune teller began. "Could you tell me her name?" Kyle took a deep breath and slowly released it. His subconscious was trying to fight him as it was being coerced into revealing what secrets it held. "What was her name?" The fortune teller asked again.

"Se..." Kyle paused and swallowed a lump in his throat. As he did so Serena developed a lump in her own throat as well. "Serenity."

In that moment she knew that her dreams really had been memories. She then scrawled a few more questions for the old woman to ask. She had to know for sure if this was some coincidence. Serena wanted to make sure that these were not false memories brought on by his learning of her own past.

"Can you tell me how you ended up being raised by the Queen?"

"Our house collapsed when the ground shook...Both of my parents were killed..." Serena watched as Kyle's face contorted at the memories. "Serenity didn't send me away though...Raised me with her daughter."

"So there was a Princess, too?" The fortune teller asked.

"Yes, Serena," Kyle said with a smile.

"Tell me about her."

"She was beautiful, kind like her mother..." Kyle said as he pictured his Princess in his mind's eye. "But she had a knack for getting into trouble. But I was the one that taught her how to loose her Royal Guards when we were little."

"So you were like a brother to the Princess?"

"Uh...Well...It started that way," Kyle said hesitantly.

"But it went further?" The fortune teller asked while Serena leaned in while waiting for a response.

"No...I..."

"You what?" The woman prodded.

"She never knew that I loved her," Kyle said in the trance. Meanwhile Serena's eyes grew wide. Kyle had loved her and hadn't told her. "She fell for a Prince, instead."

Serena couldn't believe it. Kyle had not only been on the moon but he had loved her and she had chosen Darien instead.

"Did she marry her prince?" The teller asked out of her own curiosity.

"I don't know, the palace was attacked. I was with the other guards trying to defend the palace...I..." Kyle paused and couldn't continue as he was flooded with memories of his last moments. Of being ran through while trying to hold off the attackers long enough for Darien to get Serena away from the palace. He never did find out if he'd been successful in getting Serena to safety.

"We should stop," The teller said to Serena. "These memories seem to be harder for him to face right now."

"Will he remember what he said while he was under?" Serena asked as she stared at his emotion filled face.

"Yes, unless you'd prefer that he didn't."

"No, that'll be fine. It'll give us something to talk about later," Serena said with a smile. She then waited for the fortune teller to pull Kyle back out of his trance. When Kyle began to come around he looked at Serena a bit confused while he tried to remember why he was in the booth. When their eyes locked Serena gave him a wide smile and said, "Welcome back."


	22. Wishing for a diploma

When Serena and Kyle left the booth both were a bit lost in the thoughts of what they had just learned. They walked hand in hand as they strolled through the booths, the rides no longer seeming to be very interesting anymore to either of them. Eventually, the two headed back to the car and drove back home. Still a little quiet as they thought about the various memories that the had of a time that had been for so long forgotten. Eventually, Serena couldn't stand the silence anymore when they'd gotten home. Once they were in their apartment Serena turned and quietly spoke.

"I'm sorry."

Kyle raised a brow as he eyed Serena, "For what? You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"But what about all that we learned about the Moon?" Serena asked as she leaned in to Kyle's embrace as he reached for her.

"What about it? There's still nothing that you would have to be sorry about," Kyle said then led Serena over to sit on the couch. "What happened back then has nothing to do with us now."

"Nothing to do with us now?" Serena asked as she leaned back to look up at him.

"We met in the here and now. This is when we fell in love," Kyle said as he placed a hand to Serena's cheek.

"But back in the trance...You..." Serena could hear the words that Kyle had said while in the old woman's tent. She never knew that I loved her.

"Look, I don't want to dwell on what one or the both of us could have done in a completely different life-time. The past is all said and done with. We only have to worry about the present."

"Still," Serena said as she sank back into Kyle's arms while sitting on the couch. "What if I'd noticed that you..."

"Serena," Kyle cut her off. "Not you, it was the Princess. You are two completely different people. She may be a part of you but you have no control over what SHE did or didn't do back then. And if you want to go down the WHAT IF path...What if the me of the past actually told the Princess how he felt? Those are questions that we'll never have the answers to, alright?"

Serena thought about what Kyle said then considered the emotions that she'd seen play across Kyle's face. Both while under the trance and since then. "This is making you uncomfortable, isn't it?"

"I'm not going to pretend that I really understand all of it. I mean, when it was you I tried to take it all in stride but seeing things for yourself that's supposed to be a part of a past that you can't even remember... Just give me a little time to let it all sink in. You've had more than three years to get used to the fact that you were once someone else. I've had about three hours," Kyle said suddenly exhausted.

"Trust me, in some ways you never get used to having a ghost follow you around," Serena said quietly.

"Well, what do you say that we let the ghosts stay where they are for right now?" Kyle said as he pulled Serena's head down to his shoulder. Serena snuggled closer to Kyle as she remembered the dreams that she'd had about her and Kyle together on the Moon. "But for what it's worth," Kyle added, "I'm glad that I know. And I'm glad that you were there when I found out."

Serena smiled at the confession, knowing that even if it wasn't true that Kyle felt like she needed to hear it. "I am, too."

In the other room, Brutus woke up and realized that his people had returned to the apartment so he left his bed and bound over to the couch and leapt up onto it. Landing a paw on Kyle's stomach as the large dog crossed over him to lay beside of Serena.

"Dang it, Brutus!" Kyle said as he brought a hand to his now sore abdomen. "I think you're trying to kill me."

The dog whimpered as he put his head on Serena's lap and looked up at his master. "I think he's trying to say that he's sorry," Serena said with a giggle as she scratched the dog's ears.

"That or saying that I need to take him on a run so he can burn off some of that extra energy," Kyle said as reached over and petted the over-grown pup. He then started to laugh softly before asking, "I just got a thought. How do you think Luna and Artemis will take it when you show up with Brutus when we go back to Tokyo?"

"We're taking him with us this time?" Serena asked since they'd gotten a dog sitter the last time they'd gone to the large city.

"I don't see why not. We don't know how long we'll be gone this time." Kyle said while trying to not dwell on the reason WHY their return was so uncertain. "I've told my folks that I'll be working out of the Tokyo office for the rest of the summer. It wouldn't be right to leave Brutus behind would it?"

Serena started to think of what would happen if she showed up with a giant German Shepherd. She then started to laugh as she said, "Luna will climb to the top of the bookshelf and won't come down until we leave."

/

Serena woke up the next morning and took Brutus out for his morning walk after Kyle left out for his family's office. He assured her that it was fine with everyone that he was deciding to stay in Tokyo until his fall college classes started back up. Even though he worked for his folks in their large corporation both of his parents insisted that he'd get his business degree. As long as he fulfilled his part of the deal then they had no problem with him being fully involved with the day to day running of the company. With that came the rest of the privileges of being part of the Garret family. The access to the money of the family (even though Kyle didn't really throw it around) and the influence as well. Kyle even said that if they needed to stay in Tokyo longer (Which they both hoped that the Shadows would be defeated by then but planning ahead didn't hurt none) then he could take his classes on-line if he needed to.

Serena thought about how schooling seemed to be so important to Kyle's family. Then she thought about how she'd only finished one quarter of her last year of high school before she'd ran away. Here Kyle was taking business classes, Ami had started taking college courses in the summer semester and even Lita had enrolled in Cooking School early rather than waiting for the fall classes. She was pretty sure that Mina was scheduled for some fall classes already and well Rei had been studying to be a priestess for years already. And like it or not, even Darien had finished college.

Right now Serena felt just a bit left behind. Serena finished walking Brutus then headed back to the apartment that she and Kyle lived in. She sat down and thought about what she should do about her lack of schooling then shook her head. Didn't she have enough to think about with the Shadows, planning a wedding, learning of her and Kyle's past lives together and trying to patch things up with her friends and family without adding school on top of that list? Serena sat on the couch with the dog and started to think about what she could do about school. She knew that she'd just been lucky with the fact that she'd been able to get a job without proof of a diploma. And now that she was engaged to Kyle she wasn't really expected to work as often as she had started off. In fact, she hadn't gone back in since returning from Tokyo. She'd been concentrating on her training for when she went back.

When Kyle came home he found Serena still sitting on the couch trying to figure out what she should do. When he asked her why she seemed so pensive she told him what had occupied her mind all day. When he heard what it was a part of him was proud of her for realizing that she needed to take charge of schooling without anyone pointing it out to her. Of course Kyle thought that she was a bit harsh on herself. After all, while her classmates were still learning the finer points of writing essays and term papers Serena was out on her own, working and paying her own bills.

"You've only missed out on a little over a semester," Kyle said with a smile. "If you really want to do something about it we could maybe find someone to tutor you over the summer. Then you can try for your diploma. Maybe it'll keep you busy during the day," Kyle said while pulling Serena over to him and decided that a serious look on Serena didn't suit her right now. He gave her a hug and then tickled her as she pulled back away. "We'll see what we can figure out when we get to Tokyo. But for now, we'll not worry about it."

/

The following week went by far faster than Kyle would have liked. He and Serena continued to train with the swords and worked out together but with each day came the reminder that very soon Serena would be facing an opponent that would have a completely different goal in mind than he had when he faced off with Serena. On the night before he and Serena were to leave out for Tokyo, Kyle stayed up for a while and watched as Serena slept. He was worried about what would happen once the two of them returned to where the Shadows could reach her. The whole time that Serena had been away from Tokyo she had been safe. Going back to town meant throwing that safety by the wayside.

Not being able lay still any longer, Kyle got up carefully so he wouldn't wake Serena up and made his way to the gym. He felt helpless in knowing that the woman that he wanted to be his wife would very soon march off into battle and there wouldn't be a thing that he could do about. He likely wouldn't even know that she was off fighting until after the fact. Kyle began to work out his frustration as he attacked his boxing bag for nearly two hours before he finally figured the he could get some sleep. Before showering off, Kyle glanced at his wall of swords. Not really sure why, he walked over to the glass case and pulled out one of his swords and stored it and it's sheath in his packed suitcase. One of the perks of traveling by a private jet was that no one would be checking his bag before getting on the plane. Kyle wasn't certain that having the blade on hand would even matter but somehow he felt better taking it.

Ever since Serena had talked him into having a past life regression his dreams of the Moon Kingdom had become more frequent. Along with the dreams came the memories that even seemed to haunt him during the day as well. He could remember his training that he'd gone through while becoming a guard at the Royal Palace. Now his life-long obsession of swords made sense to him. Just as his innate ability with the blade, even from the beginning of his training that his parents had gotten him after he'd begged for them, did. Magic be damned. If he needed to fight to help make sure that Serena would be coming home when all of this was all said and done then he would. What ever way he could.

Once cleaned back up, Kyle climbed back into bed and tried to get some sleep before he and Serena would have to get up to head out to the small airfield. He hugged Serena close to him and held her sleeping form until the alarm went off in the morning. Then the two tried to act as normal as they could. As if they were just heading out on an ordinary trip for the summer. But they both knew that at the heart of this trip, it was anything but ordinary.


	23. A heart to heart between friends

Serena and Kyle unpacked at the hotel that for the next couple of months will be their home. They had gotten a suite to make sure that they'd be as comfortable as possible while in town. It also gave Brutus enough room to play a bit in between his walks. Serena had to laugh at the strange looks that they had gotten as they walked through the lobby of the fancy hotel with the large dog. She had the sneaky suspicion that if Kyle hadn't been from the family that he was from the hotel management would have never allowed Brutus through the front doors. The dog seemed to sense that because the moment the door to the suite was opened he broke free from Serena's hold on his leash and bound through the room just as fast as he could barking up a storm.

Once the two were finished with their bags Serena called her friends to let them know that she was back in Tokyo. She was able to talk to everyone but Rei, whose grandfather told Serena that she was busy but he'd be sure to pass on the message for Rei would call her back. Serena hated to admit it but she kept eying the phone for the rest of the night hoping that her loud-mouthed friend would call and welcome her back to town. Still, when night fall came and it was time to turn in for the night Rei had yet to call. Serena glanced at her communicator tempted to call with it instead of the phone, figuring that Rei would be less likely to ignore a call on the device. But Serena knew that she should only use it for emergencies so she left Rei alone for the night. She'd see her soon enough.

The next morning after Kyle left out for the day Serena took Brutus out with her and figured that she'd give him a chance to stretch his legs and walked him nearly the whole way to the temple that Rei lived at. She took a cab for part of it though since she didn't think that Brutus would be too welcomed on the bus. Serena walked the grounds and finally found Rei in her private rooms. Serena took her shoes off and knocked on the door-frame to announce herself.

"I'm looking for the Miko of this temple," Serena said with a smile.

Rei looked up from her sweeping and looked up at Serena, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to talk to you. Seeing as how you didn't call me back I figured that this was the only other way," Serena said as she stepped in. She put a hand on Brutus as she did so to tell him to stay where he was.

"I've been busy," Rei said as she eyed the large brute that Serena had brought with her. "I don't want that dog in my room."

"He'll stay where he is," Serena said then she took a deep breath and continued, "Rei, I came to ask you something."

Rei took a deep breath then put her broom aside and looked at her friend. "What?"

"Why do you hate me so much?" Serena asked the question that she'd had in the back of her mind for nearly four years.

Rei looked at Serena in surprise at the question. "I don't hate you. I just..."

"Don't like me very much," Serena finished for the Sailor Scout of fire. "For once, just be honest with me."

"Serena, there's no reason to go in to all of this," Rei said with a sigh.

"Out of all of the Scouts, why has it been me, Rei?" Serena said as crossed her arms. She wasn't sure if doing this was a smart move but she'd been thinking about it all night long.

Rei stared at the other woman as she thought about the answer that she'd never let herself admit; even to herself. Looking at Serena, Rei realized that she wasn't going let this drop. After all of these years she was flat out calling Rei out. After such a blunt question Rei knew that she owed her friend some honesty.

"Because you've had everything," Rei said feeling ashamed at the truth of it. "First your family, then you were handed the leadership of the Scouts without having to earn it. Next we learned that you were the Princess that we spent nearly a whole year to find. Then you got Darien just because of who you were in another life... It seems that no matter what you keep getting what ever you want just handed to you. Even now, you just lucked up and end up engaged to one of the richest men in the country."

"So you've been envious of me?" Serena asked. She then thought about what Rei had said. Family. That was what Rei had started off with. That would have been where it all would have started. Rei had shown a dislike for her even before Rei knew about the Scouts. Serena was the only one of the Scouts that had both parents at home. Both Ami and Mina only lived with their mothers and Lita lost both of her parents to a plane crash. As for Rei, she had lost her mother as a small girl and her father had shipped her off to the temple to be raised by her grandfather shortly afterwards. Rei only saw her father on her birthday. Rei had been denied a normal home life which made Rei envy what she never had. Serena ignored the rest of what Rei had said for now. "You know, things may look a lot better from where you're sitting than where I've been, Rei. I'm sorry for everything that you've been through when you were younger but I can't be sorry just because I have parents. And as for being the Moon Princess and all of the rest, I didn't exactly choose any of that either. You wanted a normal family; I wanted to be a normal girl. It looks like neither one of us got the life that we wanted."

"And there's nothing that we can do to change it," Rei said as she sank to one of the pillows around the low table in her room.

"No, there isn't," Serena said, "And I've learned that you can't really run from any of it either. Rei, you've got to believe me when I said that I didn't know about the Shadows while I was gone. I didn't know that you all were having to fight back here against anything like them."

"I know," Rei said in a softened tone. "So, are you back for good this time?"

"At least until the Shadows are gone," Serena said. "Kyle made arrangements to work out of Tokyo for the summer."

"K-Y-L-E," Rei said slowly. "You brought him with you?"

"Of course I did. We still have a wedding to plan and..."

"Serena. You know that you are just setting yourself up for a bad fall. You DON'T end up with Kyle. It's not possible," Rei said while shaking her head. "You KNOW that."

"I KNOW NOTHING OF THE SORT!" Serena said firmly. "Rei, I left Tokyo because I got tired of having my DESTINY run my life. I'll even admit that I was running from my past as well. Though instead of running FROM it I just found a different piece of it."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Rei asked while scrunching up her face.

"Kyle was on the Moon, too" Serena said, "And he was an important part of my life."

"That's ridiculous. If that was so then Luna and Artemis would have told us when they saw him the last time that you two were in town," Rei said.

"Would they? You know how even their memories have been sketchy. They have only remembered things as they needed to," Serena reminded Rei. From the door Brutus whined to get Serena's attention. "Are you sure Brutus can't come in here? He won't mess anything up."

"No. I hate dogs," Rei said as she glanced at the German Shepherd in her door way. "And as for Kyle, have you forgotten about Darien? You and he are supposed to get married. The future depends on it. So does the Moon Kingdom; not to mention Rini."

"Rei, I'm not going to let a destiny that's been set out by someone OTHER than me run my life. I've decided to make my own future," Serena said. "I'd like for my friends to be able to understand that. I'd like for YOU to understand that."

"But with everything that we've seen..."

"The future CAN change," Serena said. "Even Pluto tried to tell me that I was changing the future. So that means that it CAN BE CHANGED."

"Pluto contacted you?"

"Um, yeh. I sort of cut her off though. Still, that does show that the future is an uncertain thing. If it was set in stone then no matter what I did, it wouldn't change," Serena said almost pleading for her friend to understand.

"I still think that you're making a mistake. You and Darien were sent here to the future so that you could be together," Rei said warily. Seeing Serena discuss ANYTHING this rationally was a new experience for her. A year ago she would have already started to cry, yell, whine, or pout. Then the two of them would have gotten into a match of sticking out their tongues at one another.

"Maybe," Serena said. "But I'm not in love with Darien. And I'm not sure that he's ever been in love with me either. But I couldn't imagine a life without Kyle anymore. Just give him a chance. Alright?"

"I'm not making any promises," Rei said with a sigh of defeat.

Serena looked at her watch and was surprised at how long she'd been at the temple. "Oops, I'd better leave. I have an appointment at two."

"An appointment? For what, to get your roots dyed?" Rei said with a smile hoping to get a rise out of Serena. She couldn't find her footing with this new Serena. She'd be more comfortable if Serena would get mad.

"No, Smarty," Serena said as she stood and glanced in the mirror. It'd only been two weeks since she'd gotten her hair dyed but she couldn't resist the urge to check to see if her blond roots really were showing. "I'm meeting with a tutor so I can graduate."

"You're kidding?" Rei asked as she stood up as well. "I would have thought that you would have loved not having to worry about sitting in a class."

"Yeh, well, I know I need to finish my senior year. Whether or not I decide to take any other classes afterwards has yet to be seen." Serena went out of the door and slipped on her shoes. "Come on, Brutus. We'd better hurry. Bye Rei. Oh, and Rei, why don't you and all the girls come to dinner at the hotel? We'll order room service so we can all talk and you can get to know Kyle. You may find that you like him."

"I...uh... What hotel?" Rei asked.

"The others know. Later," Serena said as she took up Brutus's leash and ran out of the temple.


	24. Luna, meet Brutus

Serena got back to the hotel where she was supposed to meet the tutor that Kyle had found for her to help her study for general education diploma just in time. It was that or decide to sit through her senior year from beginning to end all over again. An option that Serena didn't look forward to. When Mrs. Emerson arrived at the hotel at two o'clock Serena was there waiting (though still trying to catch her breath from trying to get back on time).

"Now, Kyle told me a little of what your problem was in school. He said that you didn't do well on tests, is that correct?" The older woman asked as she started to pull out a few books.

"Um, that's right," Serena said a little unsure of just what Kyle would have told the woman.

"Don't worry, I'm here to help you, remember. It'll help if I know a bit about you before we get started. Could you maybe tell me some things about you in school?" Mrs. Emerson asked as she got comfortable on the couch facing Serena.

"What do you want to know?" Serena asked; briefly the images of the torrent of failing grades that she'd taken home while in school began to float in her mind.

Mrs. Emerson then began to ask Serena about various aspects of Serena's schooling. She asked if Serena tended to fail due to careless mistakes or if because she truly didn't understand the assignments. Asked if Serena had difficulty in paying attention or was easily distracted; even when she knew that the work was important. Mrs. Emerson even asked if Serena tended to be forgetful and un-organized. Things that Serena felt a bit ashamed at admitting to. After all, she had almost been late for this meeting even though she knew that Kyle set it up for her in the afternoon so that she wouldn't be rushed this morning.

Next, Mrs. Emerson asked Serena if she'd consider herself impulsive.

"You mean as in an impulsive shopper?" Serena asked with a smile.

"Well, sort of. In school, did you have a hard time waiting for your turn? When you thought that you knew the answers did you blurt out even before the question was completely asked?" Serena bit her lip at that last question since she rarely remembered thinking that she knew the answers. "Or how about when talking to your friends, did you interrupt or butt into conversations and games frequently?"

"Oh, that? Doesn't everybody?" Serena asked blushing since she knew that she did tend to monopolize the conversation with her friends.

Mrs. Emerson smiled then asked a few last questions, mainly about if Serena tended to fidget a lot (though she could tell that for herself since Serena had gotten up to pace around the room several times during the small interview already) in class and had a hard time staying seated. Then there was the constant talking in class and lack of being satisfied with quiet play when she was young. Finally, Mrs. Emerson asked Serena if her difficulties at school extended to her relationships at home and even with her friends. Serena dodged the question since she wasn't sure how any of that was relevant to trying to finish her schooling NOW.

"Serena, can I be honest with you?" Mrs. Emerson asked as she walked over to where Serena was stooping to pet the dog.

"Let me guess, you think that I'm hopeless and are refusing to be my tutor," Serena said with a sigh. She supposed that she shouldn't have been surprised. After all, even when Ami had tried to help her in school she rarely seemed to do much better than a failing grade.

"I don't think anything of the sort," Mrs. Emerson said reassuringly. "I think that you are a bright young woman that simply fell through the cracks. Have you ever heard of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder?"

"Attention Deficit... Not really. Why?" Serena said with a shake of her head.

"Because with the symptoms that you've shared with me in the last few hours, I'd be willing to say that you were among the three to five percent of children to have this disorder that affects the way that you learn. Your teachers should have picked up on some of them and suggested for your parents to have you tested for it."

"You're saying that I have a disorder?" Serena asked since that wasn't what she'd wanted to hear.

"It doesn't mean that there is anything WRONG with you; just that you learn differently. Most children that receive the proper instruction do just fine. Even excel in school," The older woman said. "Those children that don't receive the proper help though tend to suffer from depression, even self-esteem issues, since those around them consider them to be lazy and think that they just aren't trying. Which is often FAR from the truth."

"But now, will I be able to finish school?" Serena asked as she walked back over to the couch with Brutus at her heels.

"Of course," Mrs. Emerson said with a smile. "And as you get older you'll learn to control some of your symptoms. They tend to get a little better. I'll teach you some methods to help you study and take tests. Now, are afternoons best for you or should I come by some other time to start your studies?"

"No, afternoons are fine," Serena told the woman. "I do have a question though, how come you started right off with the questions?"

"I like to know how best to help my students first. You see, I used to work in the public system but retired years ago and decided to go into private tutoring to help others just like you. Unfortunately, too many kids slip through the cracks of the system," Mrs. Emerson said as she gathered up her belongings to get ready to leave.

"How did Kyle know about you though?" Serena asked since it seemed odd that the woman hired to tutor her just so happened to specialize in people that have types of learning disabilities.

"You'll have to ask him about that. Now I'll have to be going. I'll be back by tomorrow."

"Alright, good-bye Mrs. Emerson," Serena said as she walked the woman out to the door.

/

When Kyle showed up a little while later he found Serena reading over some books that Mrs. Emerson had left for her to go through. "Have a good day?"

"Pretty much," Serena said with a shrug. "I invited the girls over for supper. That way we can all talk about what I've missed while out of town. If that's alright."

"I don't see why not," Kyle said as he headed off toward the bedroom to get out of the suit that he had to wear to work. He was ready to change into a pair of shorts and a tank top. "We can order a few pizzas and sodas," Then turning he smirked, "I reckon that this means that I get a pizza all to myself since I eat mushrooms and you don't."

"Oh, I don't know, Rei likes to eat vegetarian pizzas so she would probably eat it if you didn't put any meat on yours. And Lita has never met a food that she didn't like," Serena said as she giggled. "But somehow I can't see you eating anything vegetarian."

"Nope, I like putting EVERYTHING on my pizza. So I guess I'll only have to share with your friend Lita," Kyle said as he finished going into the bedroom to change.

"I'll put in an order in just a second for them to be delivered in an hour or so," Serena said as she put her book down, grateful for a reason to NOT keep reading. She then went over to the bedroom door and leaned against it before asking, "Where did you find Mrs. Emerson at?"

"Huh?"

"She said that I should ask you how you know her," Serena said as Kyle pulled his shorts up and turned to look at her. "Have you been holding out on me?"

"She was my tutor when I was younger," Kyle said as he dug around for a shirt. "And before you ask, yes I had problems in school."

"What kind of problems?" Serena asked curiously.

"I was diagnosed with dyslexia when I was little. She taught me how to deal with it," Kyle turned to face Serena.

"Oh, I didn't... Why didn't you tell me?" Serena said as she swiped at Kyle with the back of her hand across his chest.

"It's not something that you tell a lot of folks. You don't like admitting something like that," Kyle said with a lop-sided grin. "But you're right, I should have told you. So, did you like her?"

"I get the feeling that you've already talked to her so you tell me," Serena said. "She said something about Attention Deficit Disorder. Am I really that obvious?"

Kyle shrugged, "I told you that you weren't a flake. I just figured she would be the best one to tutor you. She moved here to Tokyo a couple of years ago. So since she was here and we were going to be here..."

"Well I'm glad that you knew her. I think I will like her," Serena said as she hugged Kyle. "Much better than some of my old teachers. Now I think I'd better go put in that order. The others are rarely late for anything."

"Are they bringing the cats?" Kyle asked while eying the dog in the other room. He still wondered how he was going to react to the felines.

"Probably," Serena said as she followed Kyle's gaze. "Maybe I should call Rei and tell her NOT to warn the cats. She got to meet Brutus earlier today," Serena said with a laugh. "I'll make those calls now."

/

Luna and Artemis both hid in Lita and Mina's purses as they walked through the lobby of the hotel that Serena was staying at. The staff stopped them when they walked in and called up to check to see if they were expected. They then headed up to the floor that they were told Serena was staying on. The four girls and the two stowed away cats went up the elevator and found the door to the suite just as Serena opened the door.

"Hey guys! Come on in. We ordered some pizzas."

"Wow Serena, this place is really something," Ami said as she glanced around the room. She had never been one to be impressed with wealth but even she had to notice that the room was fairly ritzy.

"So, Serena, is it just us or..." Lita asked in a hushed tone while glancing around to see if Serena's fiancé was around.

"He's in the other room so you can stop drooling," Serena said with playful shove.

The five women all went into the sitting area and started to chatter as the cats were let out of the purses. Rei glanced around looking for the brute that she'd seen Serena with earlier in the day and couldn't believe that she'd agreed to keep silent about it to the cats. Still, it'd been a while since anyone had gotten one over on the feline advisors so she figured that it wouldn't hurt to play along just this once. The mere fact that Serena had called her to let her in on the little joke meant a lot to Rei. It meant that Serena didn't hold her actions against her too badly.

"Now, Serena," Luna said as she stretched after being cooped up in the bag for too long. "The first thing that we need to do is to try to get you back in fighting form after being away for so long."

"Luna..." Serena said in an attempt to tell her that she'd been doing just that.

"Then we will need to fill you in on ...AHHH!" Luna caught sight of Brutus bounding out of the bedroom straight at her and Artemis. Both cats leapt up and raced from the floor to the couch and then climbed the curtains that were in behind the couch.

"Brutus, down," Kyle said as he chuckled and sat on one of the arm chairs as the cats began to hiss at the dog. Brutus looked up at the cats and whined a bit but laid down. "You can come back down you two. He won't hurt you."

"That's easy for YOU to say," Luna said as she eyed the large dog while balancing on the curtain rod. "Get that beast out of here!"

"Relax Luna," Serena said as she stifled a giggle. "He's well trained." Serena sat on the arm of the chair that Kyle was sitting in then added while grinning, "And the dog will behave, too."

"HEY!" Kyle pulled Serena off of the arm chair and onto his lap while he began to tickle her furiously. "Take that back."

"Alright, alright!" Serena shrieked, "I...I take it back!" Serena said while trying to catch her breath. When Kyle stopped tickling her Serena winked over at her friends, "He's not as well trained as the dog."


	25. Shadow Mars Attacks!

Serena continued to sit with Kyle while they and the Scouts all ate their pizzas. Mina watched as the two picked together and never seemed to be out of reach of one another for the whole evening. She had to smile at the way the two interacted with each other. Serena seemed really happy with Kyle. Something that she felt that her friend deserved after everything that she'd been through the last few years.

Over dinner, Serena and Kyle told of their visit to the fortune teller and of Kyle's past life regression. Not to mention, they shared some of the dreams that they'd had; both before going and since seeing the fortune teller at the carnival. Luna and Artemis had exchanged looks with one another but could admit that that their memories seemed hazy on many aspects of their lives on the Moon. It was only when Kyle asked the two cats to try to remember who taught the Moon Princess how to ditch her guards when she was young that the cats both eyed Kyle just a bit differently.

"I can't believe it," Artemis said as he walked a bit closer to the edge of the couch, though being careful to not get too close to the end of the couch while being wary of the dog still laying on the floor by the chair that it's master was sitting in. Serena was giving him bits of her pizza crust while she still sat on the chair's arm. "I'd forgotten all about that. Luna, you remember that we were always trying to look for these two when they'd cut out on their classes."

Luna jumped down from the curtain rod, which up until now she had refused to leave from her perch on, and landed on Ami's lap. She then cocked her head as she studied Serena's fiancé closely. Perhaps for the first time since Serena had announced to her friends that she was getting married. "Why wouldn't we have remembered that before?"

"Wait a minute, so Kyle really was on the moon?" Rei asked a bit surprised that the felines were accepting his presence there so readily.

"Actually, yes," Luna said. Brutus took an interest in the fact that one of the cats were so close (not to mention TALKING) and stood up to sniff Luna. To which she scurried back up to the curtain behind the couch. "He's trying to get me!"

"He is NOT, Luna," Serena giggled and put a hand on the dog's head.

"Luna, forget the dog for right now. What do you remember about the Moon Kingdom?" Lita asked as she leaned forward to scratch the dog's head.

"Well," Luna started as she settled back up as far away as she could from the dog. "Now that it's been brought up, I do remember a certain young man that would have fit Kyle's description. And the two of them were constantly getting into trouble together."

"What kind of trouble?" Mina asked more than just a bit curious.

"Well for one," Artemis piped in, "neither liked having to sit through classes very much when they were young. It seemed like every time that I turned around they'd snuck out of class and it'd take most of the day to find them again. And the Princess became quite good at hiding from all of the palace guards. They could frequently be found hiding in the gardens, napping or playing down by the reflection pool. You should have seen when they'd both ruin their clothes after going in swimming."

"There, ya see!" Serena said with a smirk, "All those times that you told me that I should act more like the Princess that I used to be and I already was."

"Oh no!" Lita started to laugh at the idea of Princess Serena running through the halls dodging the felines and Palace Guards. "Wait a minute, how come the rest of us don't remember any of that?"

"Well, you girls didn't meet Serena nor Kyle until all of you had reached of age," Luna said while twitching her tail. "That was when all of you came to the Palace to finish your Sailor Scout training. To begin working as a team. Of course by then..."

"I'd started my training as Palace Guard so I wasn't around as much as I'd been up until then," Kyle finished for the cat.

"A Palace Guard?" Rei asked surprised that the Royal Princess would have spent so much time with a guard. A commoner, who somehow had ended up at the palace. When she heard that Kyle was a part of Serena's past she'd just assumed that he'd been a member of Court somehow. She then listened as the couple and the cats all took turns answering whatever questions the Scouts had about the past and present Kyle.

/

"I don't see why we aren't attacking!" Shadow Mars shouted out as she paced back and forth. She was tired of her leader not doing anything. "We know that they are all together now. We should go and get the crystal!"

"Mars, we can't just go and attack them while they are all together," Shadow Moon said while rolling her eyes. "They have the advantage. Besides, as long as we're patient Tuxedo Mask will end up getting it for us anyway. We can afford to wait just a couple more days. Now that Sailor Moon is back in Tokyo it'll only be a matter of time before the two run in together."

"We've been here long enough waiting for you to get the crystal! I'm sick of being here!" Shadow Mars screamed.

"Mars, we're not heading out tonight. And that's that!" Shadow Moon said with finality. Mars glared at her leader then left in a huff. She was tired of taking orders from Shadow Moon. It was time to take matters into her own hands.

/

As the stories shifted from centering on Kyle and Serena on the Moon to the more recent ones, Brutus sat up and walked over to the door to let Kyle know that he needed to go on a walk. "Hold on, bud," Kyle said as he went to where the leash was. "I'd better take him on out. I'll be back in a while. He usually needs no less than a half hour for a walk in the evenings."

"Good, this will make it easier to talk about you behind your back," Serena teased.

"In that case I think I'd better make that an hour walk, instead," Kyle said before giving Serena a kiss good-bye.

He then headed out for a walk with Brutus. Kyle was glad that tonight went off better than he'd feared. He had pictured a tense night but it seemed that once he and Serena had told the others what they knew from their memories of the Moon the felines' memories began to come back as well which made it a bit easier for the other women to accept Kyle among their mist. Though he could still tell that there were reservations. But then, that was to be expected. Kyle made his way away from the main thorough fare in front of the hotel then started to run with the large dog toward the small park nearby.

Kyle figured that by now the women were all deep in conversation and he was glad that Brutus gave him a good excuse to leave so that they could do so without him there. Though it was good to see Serena having fun tonight with her friends. He knew that she'd missed being able to kid around with them while she'd been gone. He figured that when he returned to the hotel that it would likely signal the end of their visit tonight so he figured that he'd give them a little extra time before he headed back after running with Brutus. He found the jogging path and set a brisk pace that he knew that the dog enjoyed then ran around the path.

Looking at his watch, Kyle finally saw that it was getting time to start heading back to the hotel when Brutus stopped dead in his tracks and started to growl at a dark haired woman blocking his path. Kyle pulled up short and realized that what Serena had been so worried about with him coming back to Tokyo was now happening. The Shadows have found him and he was completely vulnerable.

Kyle dodged the blasts of fire that Shadow Mars sent his way; barely avoiding getting singed by the heat as he rolled away from the path that he'd been running on just moments before. Brutus then leapt toward the Shadow Scout started to attack her with his teeth. He latched onto the Scout's forearm and began to tear at her as he shook his head and growled.

Kyle got back to his feet just as he heard Brutus whimper as he was thrown off by an energy blast. Scowling at the woman that was now turning his way once more he threw himself toward her and knocked her backwards as he tried to catch her off balance.

/

Back at the hotel, the Scouts and the felines were getting ready to leave and Serena was wondering why Kyle had yet to return from his run with Brutus. It wasn't like Kyle to not return when he said that he would. He'd now been gone for over an hour and Serena glanced at the clock as she got up to walk her friends to the door.

"Hey, Serena," Mina said as she started to stuff Artemis into her purse. "I'm off after lunch tomorrow. How about we go shopping?"

"Ooh, can't. I have plans already," Serena said as she bit her lip. She hadn't told her friends about trying to finish school now.

"What kind of plans?" Mina asked.

"I...uh...Actually, I'm meeting with a tutor," Serena said timidly.

"A tutor?" Ami echoed. "Serena, if you needed a tutor, you know that I would have helped you."

"I know," Serena said carefully because she didn't want to hurt her friend's feelings. "But I didn't want to waste your time anymore." Serena wondered if she should tell her friends what Mrs. Emerson suspected about her with Attention Deficit Disorder. "Besides, you're busy with college classes already. But I'm trying to finish my senior year, now."

"Hey, that's great," Mina said.

Across the room, Rei's head shot up as she suddenly got the feeling that her Shadow counterpart was nearby. And from what she was sensing, she was attacking someone. "Uh, guys? I think we have a problem." The others turned toward Rei and gave her a questioning look. "I think the Shadows are on the move."

Serena's eyes widened at Rei's declaration. "What makes you think that?"

Outside of the balcony, Rei saw a flash of red energy and shouted, "That!"

Serena looked toward where Rei was pointing and saw the blast of energy coming from the direction of the park. "Kyle!"

/

Kyle slipped in behind Shadow Mars to keep her from sending another energy blast his way. He looped his arms under hers as she tried to get free. Kyle noticed the dark gem on the woman's tiara began to glow as well, which told Kyle that she was trying to summon some more power to send his way. Thinking fast, Kyle reached for the tiara and slung it off toward the bushes.

"Nice try but I'm still more powerful than you," Shadow Mars grunted.

"It doesn't look much like that from where I'm standing," Kyle said through gritted teeth as he held tightly to keep the Shadow Scout from being able to turn back on him. By now, Brutus had gotten back onto his feet and joined his master in trying to keep the woman that was attacking him from succeeding.

"You won't be standing for long," Shadow Mars said as she fought against the man that she'd been certain that she'd be able to capture easily to take back to the others. Currently, she was trying to figure out how something so easy wasn't working out the way that she'd thought.

"Has anyone ever told you that you talk too much?" Kyle said as he took an elbow to the gut.


	26. Ego Versus Magic

Sailor Moon and the rest of the Scouts raced to where Shadow Mars and Kyle were fighting. When they got to the park they found that Kyle and the Shadow Scout seemed to be in a heated battle. Kyle was poised in a squatting position ready to jump away from the next fireball. From the looks of it, he hadn't completely dodged all of the fireballs. His shirt looked like it'd been singed more than once already. Or at least what was left of it.

Sailor Mars couldn't believe her eyes. It looked as if Serena's fiancé was actually holding his own against the darker version of herself. She and Jupiter exchanged a glance then teamed up to attack Shadow Mars as Sailor Moon ran over to check on Kyle. Placing herself between Kyle and Shadow Mars.

/

Darien felt a familiar tug that he always got when Serena transformed. Sailor Moon was heading out to battle against the Shadow Scouts which means he was heading out to help her. Darien transformed into Tuxedo Mask and raced toward where he could feel Serena's energy emanating from. As he approached a park he heard the Scouts all fighting in he saw that it seemed that it was Serena's new boyfriend that appeared to be at the heart of the fight. Just as he'd expected would happen eventually now that Serena was with someone that couldn't defend himself against the likes of the Shadows. Fortunately, there only seemed to be one Shadow Scout here instead of all five of them.

Tuxedo Mask watched as Sailor Moon used her tiara to trap Shadow Mars with it just like she had the first monster that she had ever faced. All of the Sailor Scouts then stood between the entrapped Shadow Scout and Kyle and some dog that Tuxedo Mask had never seen before. He was about to let his presence be known when Kunzite and Zoisite showed up and approached the Sailors.

"You can release her now, Sailor Moon," Kunzite said as he and his fellow General got into position just beside of the Shadow Scout that had terrorized the Light Kingdom for nearly the last four years. "We'll return her to our world."

"What will happen to her?" Sailor Moon asked while eying Shadow Mars. She knew all too well what would have happened in the Dark Kingdom when anyone crossed Queen Beryl in THIS dimension. She had no idea what would happen to someone that crossed this other Queen Beryl.

"She'll be stripped of her powers," Zoisite said. "Without her powers she'll be of little threat."

"She won't be harmed, Sailor Moon," Kunzite said trying to assure the woman that looked just like the enemy that he'd been battling for the last several years.

"Alright," Sailor Moon said after studying the two Generals. She then recalled her tiara and returned it to her forehead. As the tiara released the Shadow Scout the Generals disappeared with her back to their own dimension.

Tuxedo Mask then watched as Sailor Moon ran over to Kyle and hugged him. Behind the mask, Darien's blue eyes flashed green at what he saw. He could feel his blood boil at the sight of his Princess with another man. He then watched as the Scouts all reverted back to their everyday selves before they then all went to check on the dog that had been with Serena's new man. Darien gritted his teeth and tightened his hand into a fist. This wasn't right. It wasn't right at all.

/

Kyle walked over to Brutus and saw that his fur was badly singed from the fireballs and he was favoring one of his front paws now that the battle was over. He gave him a once over and decided that the paw, while sprained, was not broken. Kyle lifted the injured dog and put him in a fireman's carry to take him back to the hotel.

"Is he alright?" Serena asked as Kyle adjusted the weight of the dog on his sore shoulders. He could tell he had some blisters forming; much as if he'd gotten way too much sun.

"I think so," Kyle said as he started to walk toward the hotel. "He just had to join in on all of the fun."

"Well, you didn't think that he'd just go running with his tail between his legs now did you," Serena said with a smile as she placed a hand on the pup's head.

"Nope," Kyle said with a shake of his head. "How did you five know to come, anyway?"

"Rei had a premonition. Then we saw the fireballs so it didn't take much to figure out what was going on," Serena said.

"But both of you are lucky that Shadow Mars didn't have any back up around," Rei pointed out. "I can't figure out why she was here alone in the first place."

"You know, you're right," Lita said as she thought about the attack. "When they tried to capture Darien all of them showed up. This time only Shadow Mars came."

"I wonder why they would only send one Shadow this time," Ami said as she walked along the others as they headed toward the hotel.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kyle said almost jokingly. "They underestimated me. Just because I don't have some sort of magic talisman or powers they figured that I'd be a push over."

"Well, I doubt that they'll make that mistake again," Rei said while thinking that perhaps she shouldn't make that same mistake either. She figured that if Kyle could stand up to Shadow Mars, even for a short amount of time without any sort of powers of his own, then perhaps she had discounted him just a bit too easily before. Of course she wasn't about to say that to anyone right now. "What's going to happen when they try again?"

"Well, considering that they just lost a member of their team tonight, I would think that they won't try for a while," Kyle said more out of wishful thinking than any real knowledge of the Shadows. "After all, they'll need to rethink their battle plan."

"True," Ami said thoughtfully, "But we can't depend on that."

Serena bit her lip as she fought the urge to tell Kyle that he should head back home now while the Shadows were regrouping. She knew that Kyle would refuse as long as she was staying in Tokyo. Still, it was definitely something that should be considered, once the others were gone at least.

/

Shadow Mercury informed the others of what had happened to the Shadow Scout of Fire. Right down to how she had been sent back to face Queen Beryl with the Generals acting as an escort. Now they were down a Scout and Mercury didn't like the odds that they now faced.

"I told Mars not to go trying to capture Sailor Moon's fiancé. She just had to go and prove that her plan was better than mine," Shadow Moon said while shaking her head.

"Shouldn't we try to help Mars out before they strip her of her powers?" Shadow Mercury asked in concerned.

"No. We'll have to just continue without her," Shadow Moon said with a shake of her head. "She got herself into this. She'll have to live with the consequences. The rest of you take note, just in case any of you decide to follow Shadow Mars's lead."

The rest of the Shadow Scouts exchanged glances, each of them knowing that their leader would allow each of them to face the Scouts alone if they crossed her. Not to mention the Generals and Queen Beryl.

/

Serenity watched on as both her daughter and Kyle discussed the events of the night. She could feel her daughter's frustration at not being able to protect someone that she loves so much. She also knew that Kyle wasn't one to leave town just for the sake of his own safety if Serena would not be leaving either. Kyle had always seen himself as Serena's protector. The fact that he had no powers to help him would not stop him from doing what ever he felt needed to be done. In the end, Serenity watched the two acknowledged that there really wasn't much that could be done about Kyle's safety for as long as the couple intended to remain in Tokyo.

At least Kyle had proved that he wasn't someone that couldn't take care of himself. When she saw the Scouts' surprised look at Kyle fighting with Shadow Mars Serenity had to fight a smile. She knew that it had been a jolt to Sailor Mars's ego especially to see Kyle (without any magical powers) holding his own against Shadow Mars. That meant that he could very well do the same against her if need be. Serenity had noticed how the Sailor Scouts had gotten too dependent on their powers in recent months. Perhaps it was good for them to see someone defeat one of them (or at least their counterparts) without any magical powers what so ever.

Serenity smiled and wondered how long it will take for the Scouts to accept Kyle into their mist fully. After all, regardless of how things may turn out in the future, it had to be obvious to anyone who looked close enough that Kyle was good for Serena.


	27. Lunch out with Mom

The next morning Serena watched as Kyle got ready for the day while trying to find something that wouldn't aggravate his first and second degree burns that made him look like he'd been in the sun for far too long yesterday. It was clear that regardless of what he wore he wasn't about to be comfortable today. Still, Serena knew that it could have been a lot worse after facing Shadow Mars alone last night.

"You know, you could play hooky today," Serena said as she heard Kyle hiss under his breath as he put his jacket on over his business shirt. "Then tomorrow you can just tell anyone who asks that we went to the beach today. Otherwise, there will be a lot of questions asked about how you got to looking like a boiled lobster."

"It's not that bad," Kyle said as he started to button his business jacket up.

"Yeh, your right," Serena said rolling her eyes then added a with a giggle. "Want a hug to prove just how bad it's NOT?"

"That's not funny," Kyle said while scrunching his brows at the laughter that he heard in Serena's voice.

"I didn't say that it is," Serena said innocently. "But there's no shame in admitting that you're in pain." Serena wondered why so many men refused to admit the obvious when it came to being in pain. "At least take an aspirin, even if it's 'Not That Bad'."

Kyle smirked but nodded, "Alright but I'd better hurry up and get out of here."

Serena gave him a kiss (being careful of his burns) then watched as Kyle left out for the day. She then sat with Brutus on the couch while trying to decide just how to spend her morning. She looked over at the stack of books and figured that if she was going to spend the afternoon studying then there was no reason to do it in the morning, too. The Scouts would all be working or in classes so that was out. Even Molly wasn't home when Serena called. Going for a walk with Brutus was out, too, since he was limping so badly that Kyle had rigged up a child's wading pool up like a giant litter box for him to use. That way he wouldn't have to hobble over to the park several times a day. Serena didn't really feel like going on one without the dog, neither.

Thinking over the rest of her options, Serena figured that she could always train a bit, instead. After all, the Shadows HAD attacked her fiancé last night. True, they didn't have an entire gym in the hotel room but Serena knew that Kyle had packed the bokkens so that they could still train. Serena then went to Kyle's bag where they would still be at to dig one out. When she unzipped the nearly empty bag (since all of Kyle's clothes were in the dresser now) she was surprised to find that Kyle had not only packed the practice swords but a real one as well. Almost of it's own accord, Serena's hand reached out to pick up the sword. Just before her fingers wrapped around the handle Serena slapped them with her other hand and pulled back from the sword.

"No," Serena said to herself as she smacked her own hand. "I don't think Kyle would like it if he knew that I was practicing with his Falchion sword." Serena then forced herself to pick up one of the wooden swords instead. Serena then took the bokken with her to the sitting area and began to go through the motions of practicing as Kyle had shown her. After she'd been working with the wooden blade for a while Serena heard Brutus let out a single bark to alert her that he saw something out on the balcony. Serena put the practice sword down on the coffee table then walked over to the glass door and saw that Luna had just leapt to the small balcony outside of her and Kyle's room. Opening the glass door, Serena asked, "Luna? What are you doing here?"

"I just came to check to see if everything is alright after last night," Luna said as she jumped up on the rail to talk to Serena.

"Everything's fine. Kyle looks a bit well done but he still insisted on going into work." Serena looked around to the nearby balconies then whispered, "Come on inside, we shouldn't talk out here."

"But what about..." Luna looked beyond Serena toward the dog on the couch. "HIM?"

"Come on, Luna. Brutus won't hurt you and even if he WANTED to you can get away from him easily while he's limping," Serena said as she lifted the cat and carried her on inside. She then set Luna down on the chair and continued over to the couch and sat down where Brutus then rested his head on Serena's lap.

Luna eyed the dog but settled on the chair where Serena had placed her. She then caught sight of the practice sword on the coffee table where Serena had left it. "Where did that come from?"

"Huh?" Serena then saw what Luna was asking about. "Oh, that's a bokken. I was practicing with it when you came up."

"YOU? Serena?" Luna asked while hopping over to the table to examine wooden weapon a bit closer. Temporarily forgetting the dog for the moment. "And just when did you develop the desire to play around with swords?"

"I wasn't PLAYING, Luna. Kyle has been teaching me how to fight with a sword," Serena said while scowling at the feline.

"Kyle? Where would HE have learned to use a sword? And why would he want to teach you to use one?" Luna asked while looking up at the blond.

"Kyle has been taking kenjutsu classes since he was little. He has been trying to help me train so I can fight more effectively," Serena said with obvious pride in her voice. After all, this proved that Kyle was a valuable asset to have around. "At home he's been helping me work out in our gym, too. That way I can totally kick butt the next time I see Shadow Moon."

"Really?" Luna said impressed to hear that Serena has been training while away from the Scouts. "That must be why he was able to hold his own so well with Shadow Mars last night. I wasn't aware of the fact that he was so... Active," Luna said after trying to find the right word.

"There's a lot that you aren't aware of Luna," Serena said while cocking her head a bit when Brutus started to shift a bit on the couch. Serena could tell that he was about to get down from the couch. "Kyle's been working with me ever since we left Tokyo. Not only with sword training but hand to hand and even lifting weights. I bet that I could even take on Lita or Rei now," Serena said jokingly.

"So you're saying that Kyle can work miracles then?" Luna said while turning to go back toward the chair.

Serena scrunched her nose up at Luna's comment but didn't say anything since Brutus was now slipping off of the couch and sneaking up behind Luna. She supposed that she should warn Luna but after that last statement Serena figured that Luna deserved what was coming to her. "Luna, you'd be surprised just what all Kyle can do. He's even helping me with my studies and …"

"AHH!" Serena was cut off when Luna screamed out after Brutus came up behind her and pushed at her from behind with his snout just enough to send her off of her hind feet. "That beast is going to have me for breakfast!"

"Luna, if he was going to hurt you he would have already," Serena said laughing. "You were too busy talking to even notice that he was right behind you. You know, for being a guardian, you're not very observant."

Luna had by now climbed up to the back of the chair. "You could have warned me, Serena."

"I could have," Serena said with smile. "But that wouldn't have been very funny."

/

Later, Serena had lunch with her mother at a nearby restaurant. Serena's mother asked her if she had thought about when she and Kyle will be getting married.

"Well, we haven't really set a date or anything yet, Mom," Serena said.

"You haven't?" Serena's mother asked in surprise. "You've been engaged for a whole MONTH! Why wouldn't you have set a date yet?"

"Well, there have been a few things that we've been trying to settle first," Serena said while eying some of the other patrons now that their attention had been drawn by Serena's mother's outburst.

"Oh, what can be more important than your wedding?"

"Uh... actually..." Serena bit her lip as she worked up the nerve to tell her mother ONE of the other things that had taken up some of her attention. "I'm trying to get my diploma."

"As in High School?"

Serena wasn't sure what was going through her mother's head at that moment. Maybe she hadn't even thought about the fact that Serena wouldn't have kept up with her studies after she had ran away. "That's right. Kyle even has found a tutor for me. A Mrs. Emerson."

"A tutor? Well, yes I'd say that finishing High School is important. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't at least have a time-frame in mind," Serena's mother said thoughtfully.

"Alright, I'll talk to Kyle about it," Serena said while shaking her head at her mother's single-mindedness. "Before I do, though, is there a particular time that you're wanting us to shoot for?"

"Well, considering that you and he are already living together, I'd suggest that you do it as soon as possible. Your father would still prefer that you'd come back and stay at home until you two are officially married," Serena's mother said while leaning in. "But since you and Kyle are already living together, there is one thing that we need to discuss."

"Like what?" Serena asked cautiously.

"I know that you think that we've already had this talk," Serena groaned quietly since she knew where her mother was going with this now. "But when you were dating the last boy the whole talk consisted of one word. DON'T."

"Mom... Do we have to do this here?" Serena asked even though the rest of the patrons had already had gone back to their meals. It still felt like everyone was watching her.

"I just want you to be careful," Serena's mother said as she lifted her coffee cup to her lips. "If you turned up pregnant before the wedding your father would die."

"MOTHER!"

"Shush! Do you want to draw attention to yourself?" Serena's mother chastised her daughter for hollering out.

"ME?" Serena asked in a hushed tone. "What do you think you were..."

"So you see why your father and I are wanting you to go ahead and set a date?"

Serena felt like she'd like to have the floor just open up right there and swallow her up. "I'll remember that."


	28. Shopping with the Girls

By the time Kyle got back to the hotel he was willing to admit that he was feeling miserable. Maybe he shouldn't have gone to work today after all. He could tell that he must have rubbed a couple of blisters raw today. He walked into the hotel room and watched as Serena listened to Mrs. Emerson give her an assignment and then set up a time to come in a couple of days to check on her progress. Until, then, Mrs. Emerson wished Serena a good weekend. Kyle slipped off to the bedroom to change out of his work clothes while waving to the woman as she prepared to leave. He desperately wanted to change out of his work clothes and just relax. After changing into a pair of shorts, Kyle went back out and walked up behind his fiancée to look over her shoulder to see just what kind of an assignment she'd been given.

"Macbeth?"

Upon hearing Kyle's voice, Serena's head came up sharply and collided with Kyle's chin. "OW!" Serena rubbed the back of her head as she turned and saw Kyle bring a hand to his chin.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," Kyle said chuckling at the fact that Serena had been so engrossed in her reading that she didn't even know that he was here.

"When did you get in?" Serena asked sheepishly.

"A while ago. You were a busy with Mrs. Emerson when I got back."

"Oh," Serena said while closing her book. "Well now that you are here that means I can stop for the day," Serena said with a smile.

"And why's that?" Kyle said as he first gave Serena a kiss then backed up so that she could stand up out of her chair.

"Because, I've earned it," Serena said dramatically. "Trust me. First, Luna came over and gave me a hard time about training and…"

"Didn't you tell her that you have been training?" Kyle asked.

"Of course I did. She didn't seem to believe me, though," Serena said as she closed her book and pushed it across the table.

"Then maybe you should suggest a training session with all of the others," Kyle pointed out. "Seems like the five of you need to put in some time together anyway so that the Shadows won't have the upper hand the next time ya'll come across them anyway. That way all of you can get back into the habit of fighting as a team."

"I don't know…" Serena said thinking. "I mean, it's one thing to work out just the two of us but…"

"Come on, you don't have anything to be so worried about. And won't it be good to see the look of surprise on their faces when you show them what you've learned lately?"

"I suppose that you're right," Serena said as she finally stood up and stretched. "And after some of Luna's comments today I'll admit that it'd be good to see her eat some of her words.

"Sounds like you had a busy day," Kyle said as he walked over to check on Brutus.

"You haven't even heard the worst part yet. Then I had lunch with my mother. Who, by the way, is pushing for us to set a date. Finally, I've spent the last three hours studying. So yes, I'm ready to take a break," Serena finished as she went over to the couch and pulled her feet up under her. "While I was with my mom at lunch she practically announced to the whole restaurant that she and my father think that I'll end up getting pregnant before we get married."

"What?" Kyle asked as whirled around to look at his fiancée. "What would make them think that?"

"The fact that I refused to move back home I suppose," Serena said with a shrug. "Somehow I get the feeling that they'll stay on that until we get married so be prepared for the not so subtle hinting every time that you see them. Anyway, I told mom that I was trying to get my diploma first."

"Well that had to make her happy," Kyle said as he joined Serena on the couch.

"You would have thought. But you should have seen her. She barely even acknowledged it," Serena pouted as she slipped under Kyle's waiting arm after he rested it on the back of the couch. "I really think that the biggest accomplishment that she thinks I'm capable of is getting married."

"I suppose telling her that you're Sailor Moon is out, then. If you could tell her that she might would realize just how far off the mark she is," Kyle said.

"Are you kidding? I couldn't do that."

"Why not?" Kyle asked. "You told me, didn't you?"

"I wasn't supposed to," Serena groaned. "It just didn't seem fair to not tell you at the time, though. I just didn't want to live my life worrying about it catching up to me. Like maybe someone like Shadow Moon showing up out of no where while we were out, then how would I have explained it?"

"Well, you may want to at least consider," Kyle said but let it drop when he saw Serena's head droop a bit. "But for right now, try not to worry about your parents too much."

"Easy for you to say," Serena muttered. "Your parents don't seem to be bothered by how things are."

"Everything will work out," Kyle said. "So, got any plans for the weekend?"

"Actually," Serena started, "The others are kind of expecting me to go shopping with them. You don't mind do you?" Serena asked, feeling kind of guilty since it would really be Kyle's first day off since coming to town.

"Depends, am I expected to serve as a pack mule?" Kyle teased.

"Nope. I don't think that you'd want to tag along with five women at the mall," Serena said laughing.

"In that case, have fun," Kyle said with a wink. "I have the feeling that carrying all of those bags around the mall tomorrow just might count as weight training."

/

The next morning, Lita and Mina looked at their watches and decided that they might need to go up to Serena's room to hurry her along. After all, she was more than twenty minutes late meeting them downstairs to head out to go shopping. When they got on upstairs the two knocked on the door and heard the evidence of Serena running around trying to get ready to head out the door. The women exchanged glances with one another as the door swung open to reveal Kyle telling Serena bye. The fact that he was only wearing his shorts hadn't gone unnoticed by either, despite the fact that their friend had come barreling out of the room quickly.

"Are we interrupting anything?" Lita asked while continuing to look at the closed door.

Serena glanced behind her and saw that Lita wasn't moving away from the door just yet. In fact, she looked as if she was doing her best to look through the door. "Uh…Lita? Put your eyes back in your head and come on."

"I'm coming," Lita said with sly grin. "I'm just surprised that you are too."

"At least she had good reason to be late this morning," Mina said giggling.

Serena, meanwhile, was trying to decide if she should be annoyed or not by her friends' teasing. In the end she decided to tease them right back. "Don't you two wish that you had HALF as good of an excuse to not leave home?"

Giggling, the three then headed on to meet up with Ami and Rei at the mall and all began to do their favorite group activity. SHOPPING! By lunch the five women had gone to nearly half of the stores in the mall already and each were loaded down with bags from the various stores. Serena was glad that she had brought the rental car with her. That way she wouldn't have to try to get all of her bags into a cab or on the bus. In fact, she'd already snuck out to the car to take some of her purchases out to the car. That way it looked as if she was keeping pace with the other women. She didn't want to make her friends feel bad (or envious) if she was buying more than they were. After all, they didn't have access to a credit card with a Garret's name on it.

During lunch, Luna's visit to Serena the day before was inevitably brought up. Right along with Luna's declaration that the girls all needed to get some training in as soon as possible. That reminded Serena of Kyle's suggestion to do the same thing so Serena agreed and suggested that perhaps they should all meet over at the temple later on after dinner. After all, the only day that it seemed that everyone was available was on the weekends. Lita and Ami had classes during the week at various hours and Mina worked part time. The fact that Serena didn't try to invent a reason to not train as soon as possible surprised each of the others; even if to different degrees.

Rei was uncharacteristically quiet during lunch as she watched her friend talk with the rest of the Scouts. She noticed that Serena seemed more at ease today than she had the last few times that all of them had gotten together. By the time that lunch was over Rei could almost forget that things were far from being the same way that they'd been a year ago. The blond with dyed red hair didn't seem nearly as emotional as she used to. Something that still sent her for a loop at times. Rei wasn't sure if she was sorry when it was time to leave out or not. She sort of wanted to continue to watch her friend interact with the others but she did have duties to attend to back at the temple.

"Guys, I'll see all of you back at the temple later," Rei said as she gathered up her bags.

"Later Rei," The women all said together as she left.

Ami then decided that she'd had enough shopping for one day, as well. She headed back home to get in some studying before meeting back up with the others for training. Once Serena was left alone to finish her shopping with Lita and Mina they ended up walking by a bridal shop that Serena had eyed several times already but had yet to go in.

"You know, if you want to go in then you might as well," Lita said when she caught her engaged friend glancing in the direction of the shop.

"Yeh!" Mina said while sliding up beside Serena. "After all, you finally have a reason to go in and do more than just dream. I know that if I was engaged I'd have spent the whole morning trying on dresses," Mina said with a giggle.

"I don't know… Won't going in there be kind of awkward for you?" Serena said as she stood across the way from the store in question. "I mean, me going in there kind of goes against everything that we've been told about the future. So…"

"Serena, if you're happy then we are too," Mina said while putting an arm around her friend. "Besides, what kind of Goddess of Love would I be to try to stand between you and Kyle, anyway?" Mina added with a wink.

Lita and Serena both giggled at Mina's self-declaration. "Alright, but just to look. I haven't even began to think of a date for the wedding," Serena said then held up her hands to stop the two others from speaking up. "And just so that you know, I haven't set a date because I wanted to: first get my high school degree. Second, I'd kind of would like to get rid of the Shadows before I try to take a stroll down the aisle. The last thing that I'll need is to have some wedding crashers show up and blow up the church."

"Alright, alright," Mina said as she and Lita started to steer the bride-to-be toward the bridal shop. "But it wouldn't hurt to at least get a good look."

"Hey, I suppose you're right," Serena said with a mischievous smile. "After all, it can't be easy to find those brides maid's dresses that most women complain about."

"You wouldn't!" Lita asked as she stopped walking. Serena just gave her a smile and kept walking toward the store. "Serena?"

Serena laughed then just said, "There's only one way to prevent it. You could help me pick them out."

Once the three started to sort through the seemingly endless number of dresses Mina brought over a dress for Serena to try on. "How about this one?" Mina asked as she held up a dress that looked remarkably like Serena's Princess dress.

"I…Uh…I don't think so, Mina," Serena said after holding it up to herself to get a look at it. "No offense but I don't want to be reminded of the past on my wedding day."

"Huh?" Mina asked confused.

"The dress just seems to be a carbon copy of a certain PRINCESS dress that I've worn," Serena said while looking around to make sure that no one could hear her.

"Hey, you're right," Mina said as she took a second look at the dress that she'd brought over for Serena to try on. "I'm sorry. I'll look for a different one."

"Or we could go and look at the brides maid's dresses now," Serena said with a grin.

/

Outside, Darien was walking past the shop on his way to meet Andrew at the food court and glanced in and saw Serena holding up a wedding dress and laughing with Lita and Mina. When he saw her shopping for the dress that she'd wear on her wedding day he frowned as he furled his brows. She was really going to go through with it. She was going to marry that other man. Serena was throwing aside everything that she knew about their destiny and choosing to risk the happy future that they were owed after everything that they'd been through since learning of their past lives together. Darien's eyes flashed green and he could feel his blood boil once more. He then turned and headed out of the mall. Leaving the woman that he loved behind to plan her wedding to his rival.


	29. The Appearance of the Green-Eyed Monster

Kyle used Serena's absence to try to practice a bit with his sword that he'd brought along with him. He figured that the best way to get rid of the remaining soreness from the burns that he'd received while fighting with Shadow Mars was to work through it. Kyle had originally planned to go to the local gym that he'd usually go to while in Tokyo. There was a rock wall there that he would sometimes climb. Of course he was willing to admit that climbing the wall today didn't sound much like fun so he just stayed at the hotel instead.

After lunch Brutus's bandage on his paw came loose and pestered Kyle until he took him back off into the bedroom to fix it.

"You really are spoiled rotten aren't you?" Kyle chuckled as he walked off with the dog into the room. Brutus wagged his tail in response and limped a bit into the room. Kyle shook his head because he was almost certain that the dog was limping more now than he had a couple of hours ago. "You big faker."

/

When Serena got back to the hotel with her packages she thought that Kyle must have gone off while she was shopping she didn't see him in the main room when she walked through the door. Serena didn't see Brutus either so she figured that the over-grown pup must have gotten cabin fever. That meant that Kyle probably took the limping dog down to the park. Serena giggled a bit at the thought of how Kyle pampered his dog, though to be honest after fighting against Shadow Mars Serena supposed he deserved a bit of pampering.

Serena dropped her bags off beside of the door and carried one with her to the couch to dig through it and pull out a new blouse that she wanted to wear out to dinner tonight. Of course she also got some new workout clothes as well. Something that Serena figured that she would be wearing soon enough. What with having to meet the others after supper to train. Serena was just about to sit on the couch when she heard a thump outside on the balcony. Looking up she saw that Darien, or rather PRINCE Darien, was now right outside of her balcony. Surprised, Serena opened the door to the balcony.

"Darien? What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk," Prince Darien practically growled in a tone that Serena wasn't used to hearing from him.

"Alright but you didn't have to come here like this. What if someone had seen you jump onto the balcony?" Serena said while taking a step backwards. There was something that she couldn't put her finger on but something didn't feel right.

"Not here," Darien said scowling. When he did so Serena saw his eyes flash green. "Come on," Darien said as he grabbed Serena's arm.

"Ow! Not so hard," Serena tried to pull her arm out of Darien's grip but he only tightened it. "Darien, what's come over you?" Out of instinct, Serena's hand began to creep up toward her transformation broach.

"No you don't," Darien hissed he grabbed at the broach and tossed it across the room. Serena watched as her crystal landed on the far side of the room and then looked back toward Darien only to see that his face seemed to be contorting as his eyes continued to flash green.

/

Kyle finished bandaging Brutus's leg up and laughed as the dog jumped off of the bed in a way that told him that the dog wasn't as hurt has he'd pretended just before coming into the bedroom. Brutus went to the door and whined at it and started to scratch at the floor.

"What? Do you think that Serena's back already? She's out shopping with her friends, I doubt that she'd be coming back just yet," Kyle chuckled knowing that the dog loved her so much. That was when her heard a scream then a crash in the sitting room, "Serena!"

Kyle went running through the hotel room and raced to see what had caused her to scream. When he reached the main room of the suite he saw some gargantuan creature that vaguely resembled a human. It was large, green and more importantly it was towering over where Serena was crumpled on the ground. Kyle snatched up his sword from the table as he ran by it and sent himself barreling toward the (What should he call this thing?) creature. The green monster brought it's sword up and began to swing it Kyle's way which sent him to defending himself against the frenzied assault.

Brutus barked at the strange thing that his master was fighting while trying to stay out of reach of the swords. When he saw Serena the dog bound over to her and nudged her to try to wake her up. He whined at her and repeatedly nuzzled her but she just wouldn't wake up.

Kyle brought his sword up to strike at the breastplate armor of the monster only to have it vanish from in front of him. Kyle had to pull his swing back up short to prevent it from sending the blade right through his own leg. When he recovered he looked over at Serena where Brutus was trying to wake her up still. That was when the monster reappeared over Serena and knocked the dog away from his fiancée. Before Kyle could do anything else the monster disappeared once more. This time taking Serena with him.

Kyle slammed his fist onto the wall, disgusted that he'd been unable to keep the monster from hurting Serena. Not only that but it had taken her as well. Kyle slid down the wall in despair, not having a clue how to trace someone that could literally disappear into nothingness. It was only when Brutus came up to him whining that Kyle looked back up. The dog had brought Serena's discarded broach over to his master and dropped it in front of him.

"Buddy, I don't think this thing will help us find her," Kyle said as he reached out to pick up the jewel. He figured that if the crystal could help find Serena the Scouts would have used it to locate her back when she had first left Tokyo.

When Kyle held the crystal it started to softly glow; much to his surprise. Uncertain of what was going on with the magical crystal, Kyle stood and slipped the broach into his pocket then did one thing that most men that have half of a brain in their heads wouldn't do. He went over to Serena's purse and dumped it out all over the floor. He knew that Serena kept that communicator of hers in there somewhere. Kyle knew that he had to contact the Scouts as soon as possible. Right now they were the only ones that Kyle could think of that might would be able to get Serena back safely.

/

Rei was about to eat an early supper so that she'd be ready to train once the others all arrived at the temple when her communicator went off. Seeing that it showed that Serena was the one that was calling she wasn't sure if she should answer it or not. Rei walked over to snatch up her own communicator. She supposed that she shouldn't be so hard on Serena. After all, she did seem to be trying a lot harder since she'd returned to Tokyo.

"Alright Serena, what's the big emergency?"

"This isn't Serena," Kyle said as he came across the view screen. "Some monster came and took her. She didn't even have time to transform."

"WHAT?" Rei shouted into the communicator. "How?"

"I was off in the back of the suite, I didn't even know that she was here. Then I heard her scream and I ran out and saw a huge monster in the sitting room. He took her," Kyle said while trying not to panic.

"The Shadows must have been trying to get the crystal…"

"Well, they didn't get it. Brutus found it on the floor after that monster left with Serena."

"You have it?" Rei asked surprised.

"Yes, can you find her if the Shadows are the ones that sent that monster after her?" Kyle asked while shifting the gears of the rental car as he headed toward the temple that Serena had told him about that Rei and the other Scouts usually met at.

"I'll try to search for her using the fire but the last time I did that I couldn't…"

"The last time Serena didn't want to be found," Kyle interrupted. "This time will be different." Or at least he hoped it would be. "I'm heading out your way. Call the others and let them know what's happened."

/

Shadow Moon scowled at the woman that had been brought back to her hide out in the Negaverse of this dimension. "You were supposed to bring the Moon Crystal; NOT Sailor Moon!"

Serena looked up at what was once Darien and couldn't see much of the man that she was used to seeing anywhere in him anymore. He didn't act like the Darien that she knew and he certainly didn't look like him anymore. She should have guessed that Shadow Moon was behind his attacking her in her hotel room.

"I don't think he cares at this point, Moon," Shadow Venus said as she studied the stoic man that had yet to say a word since arriving in this dimension's dark realm. "His mind has been ate away by hate and jealousy. He can't think past those emotions anymore."

"Why did you instill so much into his heart that he wouldn't be of any use to us?" Shadow Moon asked.

"I didn't take into account the anger and jealousy that he would have already have felt over her engagement. Once the spell took hold it progressed faster than it should have," Shadow Venus explained.

"Well now what are we supposed to do with her?" Shadow Moon groaned.

"Well," Shadow Mercury said. "We could exchange her for the crystal. The other Sailor Scouts won't do anything to jeopardize their Princess."

"They won't give you the crystal," Serena said from where she was set once she was brought in. "They'll know better."

"You'd better hope that's not true," Shadow Moon said turning to face her double. "For your sake."


	30. A Royal Request

"I still can't believe that the monster took Serena but left the crystal," Mina muttered under her breath while she and the others all stayed back while Rei tried to use the fire to locate their missing leader.

"Shush!" Ami said while eying Rei. She wasn't sure just how much their talking would affect the outcome of Rei's scrying with the fire.

"It's alright," Rei said as she leaned back away from the flames. "I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that I've found her."

"And the bad news?" Kyle asked from where he was sitting just by the door with Brutus.

"She's in the Negaverse," Rei said reluctantly.

"How is that possible?" Lita asked.

"I guess that the Shadows have taken it over since they've been here in our dimension," Rei said as she stood up to step away from the fire. "But it's very unstable. I'd say that they haven't been able to use much magic there. If they did the negative energy would send what's left of the sub-dimension into ruins."

"Luna, do you think you can locate a door way like you did when we fought Queen Beryl," Ami asked after thinking of how they had all gotten close to the Negaverse in the past. Though Sailor Moon had been the only one of them to actually make it all of the way there.

"I'll get right on it. If we hurry you should be able to reach Serena before the Shadows realize that we know where they are," The black cat said. "Oh! And Kyle, I think that you should give the crystal to Rei to hold on to until it can be given back to Serena."

Kyle nodded then stood so that he could dig the transformation broach out of his pocket. "There was something that I wanted to ask you about this thing, too." Kyle removed the Moon Crystal from his pocket to reveal that it was glowing once more. "Why does it do that?"

"The crystal is glowing?" Luna asked as she approached Kyle carefully, still avoiding the dog that was nearby. "I've never seen it do that with anyone other than Serena or Queen Serenity."

"It started doing that the moment I picked it up after Serena was taken," Kyle said while holding broach in his outstretched hand.

Luna looked harder at the crystal and swore that she something within it. The crescent moon on Luna's forehead began to glow in response to the crystal. She then looked back up to Kyle and saw that he, too, had a glowing mark on his forehead.

Meanwhile, the others all watched on; uncertain of what was happening or what (if anything) they should do. After a few moments Rei and the other Scouts watched as both Luna and Kyle seemed to disappear into the strange glow that had emanated from the crystal. Leaving the four women, one white cat and one dog behind in utter confusion.

Kyle looked up sharply when he realized that he was no longer in the meditation room that he and the others had gathered in for Rei to do her fire reading. Instead he and the vocal cat seemed to be in the mist of a ruined temple or palace. One that felt very familiar to Kyle for some reason.

"What's going on?"

"I'm not absolutely sure," Luna said reluctantly. "It would appear that the crystal is acting on it's own."

"Not completely on it's own, Luna," The two heard from behind them.

"Your Majesty?" Luna asked in confusion.

/

Serena watched as the Shadow Scouts all prepared to leave to face the Sailor Scouts. The whole time she tried to see if there was any part of the Darien that she knew still somewhere inside of the monster that he was now. Not an easy feat in itself since he hadn't spoken a word to anyone after the completion of his transformation. Not even to the Shadows that had summoned him to this dark realm.

"Alright, let's go," Shadow Moon said. "The pathetic Sailors ought to be good and panicked by now. And this time they won't be able to expect Tuxey here to help them out."

"I'm assuming that we are leaving him here though," Shadow Mercury said as she eyed the large green monster of a man.

"I hadn't planned on it," Shadow Moon said with a shrug. "Why?"

"Because he's unpredictable. We have no idea what he'll do in a battle."

"And that's different from when Mars fought with us, HOW?" Shadow Moon asked.

Serena had to fight back a snicker. It seemed that she and Rei got along about as well as Shadow Moon and Shadow Mars did. Still, even in her darkest hours she never doubted that Rei cared for her in her own way. She'd already sensed Rei scrying for her which means that she hadn't wasted anytime looking for her once she'd learned of the attack. Serena couldn't help but wonder if their counterparts would have been quite so devoted to one another. Serena then watched as the four Shadows left; leaving her and what was left of Darien alone together.

/

"You're saying that you want me to become this…" Kyle started but stopped at a loss for words.

"That's right. Then you can help in Serena's rescue," Serenity said softly. "After all, we both know that you wouldn't take well to not being able to do anything, anyway. Or are you in the habit of packing a sword with you everywhere you go?" Serenity added with a hint of a smile.

"How did you know that I…" Kyle wasn't sure if he liked the idea of the Queen watching when he and Serena were together.

"That's not important. The important thing is, will you agree to do this?" Queen Serenity asked. "The girls weren't given the opportunity to make this decision. You are."

Kyle took only a brief moment to consider what he was being asked. After all, it didn't take thinking to know that he wanted to get Serena back safe and sound. And if Queen Serenity and this crystal could help him do just that then he was up for whatever this would entail.

"Your Highness, there's no question about it. What do I have to do?" Kyle asked as he looked up into Serenity's smiling ghostly figure.

/

The Sailor Scouts weren't given much time to contemplate just where their advisor and the man that their leader intended to marry disappeared to. Outside, they could hear that the Shadows had shown up at the temple. Some of the visitors that had come to worship at the temple went running and screaming away as the Shadows approached the living quarters of the temple. Shadow Moon at the front shouting for the Scouts to face her and her guardians.

Taking only a brief second to exchange glances, the Sailor Scouts all transformed and met the Shadows where they stood just outside of the temple. With Sailor Mars at the front facing off with Shadow Moon.

"Well that didn't take long," Shadow Moon said with a snicker.

"What have you done to Sailor Moon?" Mars demanded.

"Nothing," Shadow Moon said flippantly. "YET! If you want it to stay that way just go ahead and hand the Imperium Silver Moon Crystal over now. Otherwise, you can go ahead and start planning for her funeral now."

Mars scrunched her brows up, even if they wanted to give the crystal up in exchange for Serena they couldn't. It vanished with Kyle and Luna. "There's no way that we'd give you the crystal!" Mars said with as much bravado as she could muster. The only thing that they could do was fight. If the Shadows returned to the Negaverse right now there was no telling just what they would do to Serena.

"Wrong answer!" Shadow Moon shouted as she signaled for the other Shadows to attack.

Mars centered in on the leaders of the Shadows and she nearly blocked out the rest of the Scouts as she focused only on Shadow Moon. She sent her fire balls toward the Shadow Scout who seemed to be able to deflect most of them with her wand that resembled Serena's. Rei was forced to try to duck those same fire balls. She was then face to face with the stark reality of something that she'd never fully appreciated. Serena, as Sailor Moon, never fought with the vehement desire to actually kill. Sailor Moon would defeat an enemy, yes, but would also look for alternatives. Just like she had with the sisters from the Black Moon Clan. Not Shadow Moon, though. She wanted to kill Mars and that was clear. Especially when she brought her wand up to send a bolt of dark energy. Mars set her feet firmly apart to prepare for the blast. Instead of being bomb-barded with the dark energy, though, she was hit by a large mass from the side. Sending her flying to the ground.

/

Kyle looked around as he stepped through the gate way that he'd been sent through. Serenity had told him that the crystal should lead him to Serena. Then he'd need to try to bring her back to this door way to the outside before it closed. It sounded simple enough. Too simple. After hearing all of Serena's stories about fighting the various enemies that she has faced over the years, Kyle had no delusions about any of this being easy.

The area that he'd been sent to seemed to be a long dark tunnel. Kyle crept along the stone wall as quietly as he could. He had no idea just what all could be waiting at the end of the tunnel and he had no intention of announcing his presence before it was necessary. Kyle held his sword that he'd gotten along with his transformation at the ready. It looked remarkably like the one that he'd bought that was rumored to have belonged to Sir Galahad. Of course this one wasn't broken like the relic that he'd gotten at an auction. Kyle noticed that the rest of his outfit looked identical to the one he could remember wearing while he was a member of the Royal Guard.

As Kyle neared the end of the tunnel, he thought he heard Serena up ahead. Of course from this distance he couldn't tell if it was really Serena or Shadow Moon that he heard but the Moon Crystal's pulsating had picked up to indicate that he was getting closer to his fiancée. Kyle inched his way to the mouth of the cave. He then saw Serena leaning against the wall on the far side of large empty cavern behind some sort of force field. She hadn't seen him yet since she was resting her head on her knees. Kyle looked around but was confused when he couldn't see anyone guarding Serena. Kyle hoped that meant that everyone was out looking for the crystal. The same crystal that he had tucked away under his sleeve. Stepping out toward the mouth of the cavern, Kyle started to slip toward where Serena was.

/

Serena had pulled her knees up and rested her head on them after the Shadows left. She still hadn't been able to get through to Darien and there was nothing that she could do but hope that her friends would all be alright. Inevitably, Serena had began to cry. She felt like she shouldn't have allowed herself to be captured so easily. Now the Scouts were all going to have to try to come for her or surrender the crystal. Neither option set well with Serena.

When Serena heard the sound of rocks crunching under heavy boots Serena assumed that Darien must be returning from where ever he'd disappeared off to. She lifted her head and couldn't have been more surprised to see Kyle making his way toward her. She started to smile as she saw him in his gear that he'd worn at the palace after he'd trained as a Royal Guard. That smile was quickly replaced when she saw Darien behind her fiancé.

Panicked, Serena called out, "Kyle, look out!"


	31. Sir Kyle to the Rescue!!

Sailor Mars shifted and realized that she had a dog that weighed more than a hundred pounds right on top of her. She glanced back to where she'd been standing and realized that if the dog hadn't pushed her out of the way that she wouldn't have stood a chance against the blast that Shadow Moon had sent her way. Rei crawled out from under the dog and readied a fresh attack against Shadow Moon.

Meanwhile, Mina was trying to fight against Shadow Mercury while Ami fought against Shadow Jupiter. That left Lita to fight Shadow Venus. None of them seemed to be able to get an upper hand against their opponents. While the girls were all busy fighting, Artemis made his way towards Brutus. From what he'd heard and seen, this was the third time that the canine had tried to protect someone from the Shadows and their minions. First when Kyle was attacked by Shadow Mars, then earlier today when the monster was sent to kidnap Serena. Now he'd knocked Sailor Mars out of the way of the energy blast thrown by Shadow Moon. Artemis carefully checked the dog and found that the dog hadn't been as lucky this time as he'd been during the last two attacks. The dog was out like a light and Artemis could even see a bit of blood under the dog's face. Artemis turned and watched as the Sailors and Shadows continued to fight. He wished that there was something that he could do but right now he had to trust that the young women would be able to call on all of their training to come out on top.

/

Kyle raised his blade to block the sword of the green monster that had been coming up behind him before Serena sounded out a warning. He then went on the offensive and sent his own sword on a calculated attack against the creature that had snatched Serena from their hotel room after knocking her out. Making it where she wouldn't even be able to defend herself. Then Kyle hadn't been able to help her. Now he and this monster were in the midst of a heated battle. Kyle was so engrossed within the fight that when Serena called out to him he was surprised; both by her calling out and by what she said.

"Kyle! Don't hurt him!"

"What?" Kyle asked incredulously as he blocked the monster's next attack.

"I said don't hurt him!" Serena said as she stood within the force field and watched the fight. "That's not a monster! The Shadows put a spell on Darien!"

Kyle eyed the creature in front of him and shook his head. 'How am I supposed to fight him without hurting him?' Kyle thought as he tried to keep the monster busy while he thought of something. After all, he had no idea how much time he had until the Shadows returned and he still had to free Serena from the force field. Kyle dodged a swing that went a little too wide and noticed that there seemed to be a pattern to Darien's attacks. He wasn't sure if it was the mind-numbing spell that made the man predictable or if it was the man's natural fighting style showing through but Kyle thought that he'd be able to use that predictability. The next time that the man, turned creature, swung wide Kyle brought the butt of his sword up and beaned him right in the back of the head. Once Kyle knew that Darien was out he went over to where Serena was at and tried to figure out how to free his fiancée.

"Kyle, what are you doing here?" Serena asked now that he was close enough to talk to without shouting.

"I've always wanted to see if a Damsel in distress is always as happy to see a Knight coming to rescue her as they seem to be in fairy tales." Kyle said with a wry grin.

"If memory serves the maiden's supposed to be so happy that she decides to marry her brave Knight," Serena replied with a bit of laughter as she watched Kyle pull her broach out from his sleeve.

"In that case we'd better get out of here. Otherwise we might miss our happily ever after," Kyle said as the Silver Moon Crystal glowed even brighter. "Now, Luna said that this thing should deactivate the force field." The crystal emanated a concentrated beam of light that then lowered the force field and released Serena. "I believe this belongs to you," Kyle said as he handed Serena her broach.

"Thanks," Serena said as she took the crystal and hugged Kyle in relief. "You know, I just realized that you've not gotten a chance to see me transform yet," Serena said as she prepared to transform into Sailor Moon.

"Too bad I don't have much time to stop to enjoy watching it right now," Kyle said as he stepped back to give Serena room to activate her powers. He then watched as Serena was surrounded by ribbons of light which melded itself to her and created her uniform. He was awestruck at the sight of Serena becoming Sailor Moon right in front of him. In a matter of seconds she transformed from the woman that he'd asked to marry him into the woman that he'd believed to be a thing of urban legend less than a few months ago. As the light began to dissipate from around Sailor Moon Kyle heard a growl from behind him. Kyle spun around just in time to see Darien/the green monster launching himself at him. Kyle raised his sword and blocked Darien's as Sailor Moon completed her transformation.

"Kyle! Try to get away from him so I can heal him with my crystal!" Sailor Moon shouted as she activated her crystal to send healing magic towards Darien.

Kyle had leapt off to the side to keep from being hit by the light since he had no idea what would happen to anyone else caught in the beam of light. After all, this was all still just a bit new to him. New or not, though, he could tell two things. One, the healing didn't seem to be working. Two, the cave that they were now in seemed to be growing extremely unstable. That was when Kyle remembered what Rei had said about the realm being very fragile and how the Shadows must not have used much magic while here.

"Sailor Moon!" Kyle called to his fiancée. "You have to stop! The cave is going to collapse!"

Meanwhile, the monster's eyes flickered ever so briefly back to the clear blue that Serena was used to seeing from Darien. Despite the power that Sailor Moon was sending Darien's way, though, his eyes returned to the menacing green. Then the ground beneath them all began to shake Serena glanced between the two men. She didn't like the idea of giving up on Darien but she knew that Kyle was right about her causing the cave to become unstable.

"We have to get him out of here, too!" Sailor Moon said while dodging a bit of the ceiling that had broke away overhead.

Kyle nodded knowing that he wasn't going to be able to get Serena out of here without getting her ex-boyfriend out as well. He sent himself directly back at the man in question, reminding himself that Serena was watching and explicitly asked him not to hurt Darien. Kyle took the monster/man by surprise since he had concentrated on Sailor Moon with her crystal. In a matter of moments he was once again unconscious, this time Kyle stopped to lift the man over his shoulders much in the same way that he'd carried Brutus a few nights before. While leading Serena back to the gate way that he'd come through to rescue his fiancée he wondered how that mission had somehow morphed into saving Serena's ex as well.

"We'd better hurry." Kyle said as he ran along beside Sailor Moon while urging her faster. "We don't know how long Sleeping Beauty will stay asleep. He didn't stay out long the last time. The door should be just up ahead."

"I see it." Serena said as she pointed toward where she saw the door. "It looks like it's closing!"

/

Lita glared at Shadow Venus after dodging her version Mina's Love Chain. Powering up, Jupiter sent her Thundercrash Zap toward the other woman in an effort to send her off balance enough to try to help out her friends in their own battles against the rest of the Shadows. Shadow Venus was caught by the lightning bolt in the arm, leaving her injured now. Lita then glanced around to check on her friends. That was when she saw a distortion just beyond where the battle was ensuing. She then saw Luna step out of the small door way out of nothingness. Behind the black cat came Sailor Moon and what had to be Kyle right behind her. Though Lita had to do a double take since he was no longer wearing the shorts and t-shirt that he'd been wearing when he and Luna had vanished. Instead, he was wearing what appeared to be a uniform of the Royal Guard from the Silver Millennium. Kyle was also carrying a large green monster. One that looked just like the monster that he'd described as kidnapping Serena earlier. Lita couldn't understand why they would bring the monster here of all places.

Serena saw that her friends were all in a heated battle but Mars and Shadow Moon were closest to where she and Kyle had returned so she raced to help against her counterpart while Kyle laid Darien down on the ground and assessed the battle as well before he joined in. Off to the side Kyle saw Brutus lying absolutely still with Artemis at his side. He wanted to go and check on his canine friend but with the battle still raging he knew that he was needed to help the others first. His next instinct was to help Serena but she and Mars were already double teaming Shadow Moon. Instead, he saw that Ami was fighting against Shadow Jupiter nearby so he joined her. Ami sent her Ice Bubbles Freeze against Shadow Jupiter's Oak Evolution. Seeing that her opponent was using her most powerful attack (that she knew of), Mercury tried to power back up to send her own attack toward the Shadow. Unfortunately, Mercury wasn't able to send her Mercury Aqua Mirage back fast enough. The dispersed dark energy surrounded both she and Kyle as they prepared for the impact. Kyle raised his sword up and was amazed that the sword seemed to absorb the dark energy.

Shadow Jupiter watched in amazement as her attack was absorbed into the sword that was held by the newcomer to the battle. She then saw him pierce the ground with his sword. The next thing that she knew the power from her own attack returned to her in the form of a ground quake that was concentrated on her location.

Shadow Jupiter exchanged a look with her injured comrade before both agreeing to the fact that they'd had enough. They weren't going to get the crystal tonight. Both she and Shadow Venus both pulled back and vanished; leaving Shadow Moon and Shadow Mercury to battle alone. Sailor Mercury, Sailor Jupiter and Kyle all turned to help the remaining three Sailor Scouts against the two Shadow Scouts that were still fighting.

"Shadow Moon! We should pull back!" Shadow Mercury said as she joined her leader. "We'll need to figure something else out."

Shadow Moon looked around and saw that two of her Scouts had already abandoned her. Scowling, she acknowledged that Shadow Mercury was right. There was no way that they could win a fight against all of the Sailors. She sent one last burst of dark energy before disappearing with her lone Scout that had remained to fight alongside her.

Once the Shadows were all gone Kyle made his way over to his dog while the Scouts all asked Serena about the green monster that they'd returned from the Negaverse with. Frowning, Kyle saw that Brutus was hurt pretty bad. He was certain that Brutus had at least three broken ribs. Kyle was concerned that the dog hadn't woke up yet now that the battle was over.

"Sailor Moon, are we glad to see you!" Sailor Venus said as she bound over to wrap her friend into a hug.

"Thanks," Serena said as she returned her friend's hug.

"I hate to ask you this but why did you and Kyle bring back that monster?" Sailor Jupiter asked as she eyed the unconscious monster that was still where Kyle had left him after he and Sailor Moon returned from the Negaverse.

"That's not a monster, it's Darien. I heard the Shadows talking. Shadow Venus put some sort of spell on him," Sailor Moon said as she turned to look at the man that she'd once pictured herself with in the future.

"You're kidding?" Sailor Venus said. "How could Shadow Venus turn Darien into a monster?"

"She said something about his anger and jealousy enhanced the spell. From what I heard, I don't think that she meant for it to be as strong of spell as it turned out," Sailor Moon said as she scanned the area to see just where Kyle had gone after the end of the fight. When she saw Kyle crouching over Brutus she paused as she tried to see just how bad that the dog was.

"Why didn't you just use your crystal to heal him instead of bringing him back like that?" Sailor Mercury asked since it didn't seem practical to bring Darien back while he was still a threat. Mercury waited for Sailor Moon to reply before prodding her, "Serena?"

"Huh?" Serena turned her attention back to Ami. "Oh, I tried but I couldn't. It looked like it was working for a minute but then he went back to being the monster. We didn't have much time so we brought him back here so we can try to figure out a way to bring him back."

"I still don't see how Shadow Venus was able to do this," Mina said as she knelt beside the creature that she'd just been told was Darien. "I don't have the kind of power to turn someone into a monster like this."

"Maybe not now, but it stands to reason that the Shadows would have developed the darker aspects of their powers to suit them in their own pursuits," Luna said as she too examined Darien.

"But if she did this to him then shouldn't I be able to reverse it?" Mina asked as she looked to the feline advisor. "Not to mention, if Sailor Moon's crystal couldn't change him back, can anything?"

"Venus," Lita said. "What if you and Sailor Moon combined your powers? That might would work."

Over at the injured dog, Mars knelt beside of Kyle where he was still checking out Brutus's injuries. "Is he going to be alright?"

"I don't know yet," Kyle frowned. "What happened to him?"

"I was fighting against Shadow Moon and she tried to hit me with an energy blast. I tried to brace for it but the dog knocked me out of its path, instead," Sailor Mars said as she stroked the German Shepherd's coarse fur. "I wasn't expecting the blast to be as strong as it was. If he hadn't had knocked me down…"

"I need to get him to a vet," Kyle said after Mars paused. "He's got a few broken ribs at least. This time he won't get away with just getting his paw wrapped up." Behind him he then heard Venus and Sailor Moon activate their powers to try to heal Darien from the spell that Shadow Venus had put on him. "I don't suppose that that would work on Brutus."

Mars watched as the two women's powers combined heal Darien. "I'm afraid not. Sailor Moon's can heal the effects of evil spells but not actual physical injuries," Mars said while shaking her head. "I don't think that you should move Brutus much, though. Take him inside and I'll call a vet to come here."

"I thought that you don't like dogs," Kyle asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't. I'll go make that call," Mars said as she stood up.


	32. The Crescent Moon Knight

After Darien was changed back from the green monster that Shadow Venus had turned him into and was a human once again, it took him several moments to figure out just where he was. The last thing he could remember was talking to Rei about Serena coming back to Tokyo in a couple of days. Now he looked up and there was Sailor Moon looking down at him.

"Serena?"

"Welcome back," Sailor Moon said with a smile.

"What happened?" Darien asked as he sat up just a bit woozy.

Sailor Moon exchanged glances with Venus, Jupiter and Mercury unsure of just how to explain what had happened to him. "You don't know?" Darien shook his head. The other two Scouts then began to slip away to leave Sailor Moon and Darien to speak privately. "I think that we'd better talk then."

"I thought that you weren't coming back to Tokyo for a few days yet," Darien said as he put his head in his hands while trying to get his bearings.

"Darien, I came to town earlier in the week," Sailor Moon said as she watched Darien try to process the fact that he was missing several days.

"So why am I here, now? And why are all of the others transformed, too?"

"Well, I guess the simple way to explain it is this. Have you ever heard of The Green-Eyed Monster?" Serena asked.

"The what? What's that got to do with..."

"Shadow Venus enhanced your jealousy over Kyle and I getting married to cause you to morph into a monster," Serena said as she knelt beside Darien. "I'm not sure just when she did it but today..." Serena briefly paused as she thought back to the scene in the hotel room. "Anyway, you're fine now."

"What did I do?" Darien asked afraid that he might have hurt Serena. Serena closed her eyes trying to decide what all to tell Darien about what had happened. After all, it wasn't like he could have prevented anything; even if he had wanted to.

"You let us know where the Shadows have been hiding out since coming to this dimension," Serena said while trying to act light hearted about it. "You even even took me there to show me."

"Where?" Darien asked confused.

"The Negaverse."

Darien's eyes widened a bit. The last time that he was both brain-washed and in the Negaverse he had tried to kill Serena. Had he tried to hurt her this time too? "Serena, look. I..."

"Darien, it's okay. I'm just glad that you're alright," Serena said as her eyes drifted toward the temple. "I know that you'd never WANT to hurt anyone. That's what matters. I think I'll go inside now. The others were left fighting the Shadows alone while Kyle and I were in the Negaverse. I need to make sure that they are alright and it looks like Brutus got hurt, too."

"Kyle was in the Negaverse?" Darien asked while narrowing his eyes. He knew that Kyle would end up getting himself into trouble.

"He was there to rescue me," Serena said while seeing Darien's thoughts in his expression. "And he's the reason that YOU'RE not there now. He carried you out instead of leaving you behind when the cave that we were all in started to collapse. You don't have to like him, Darien, but he saved your life tonight. He could have easily left you behind but he didn't. He even made sure not to hurt you after I told him that you weren't really a monster. That you were just under a spell. You might want to think about that. After all, if the roles were reversed, would you have risked your own life to make sure that he got out safely, too?"

With that Sailor Moon stood up and powered down before heading inside. She wanted to check on Brutus since she knew that he must be hurt pretty badly for Rei to allow him into the living quarters of the temple. She hoped that the dog would be alright. He was like a good friend or even a family member. Serena didn't know what she would do if something happened to the dog.

/

After powering down and reverting back to his everyday self, Kyle waited for the vet as all of Serena's friends and the cats joined him. Kyle eyed the women as they came into the shrine, leaving his fiancée and her ex-boyfriend alone together outside. He briefly considered stepping outside but he knew that Serena just might think that he didn't trust her so he stayed where he was while waiting for the animal doctor. After all, even if he didn't particularly trust Darien, he did trust Serena. She'd never given him a reason not to. Still, he couldn't help but asked Mina, "Are you sure that the spell has been totally removed?"

"Completely," Mina said as she gave Kyle a smile. "Would you rather that one of us go back out?" Mina asked as she considered going back out to where she'd left Serena and Darien.

Kyle shook his head, "No. Just checking."

Kyle then turned is attention back to Brutus while trying not to think about the fact that Serena was outside talking to the same man that was not only her ex-boyfriend but had also attacked her (spell or no spell) mere hours ago. He knew that he'd have to get used to Serena being around Darien. After all, he wasn't going away. He fought against the same evil that Serena did. The same evil that he'd now agreed to fight against as well. Still, that didn't mean that he had to be comfortable with it.

By the time the vet had gotten to the temple, Brutus had woke up. The vet was told that it was believed that the dog had been hit by a bus. Which seemed plausible to the veterinarian. The animal doctor confirmed that Brutus did in fact have a couple of broken ribs but said that he'd need to have the dog x-rayed to check for further injuries. So Kyle took the dog into the office and learned that Brutus was a lucky dog once again. He wasn't hurt nearly as bad as he could have been. There were no hidden internal injuries beyond the broken ribs. Still, he'd need to stay at the animal hospital for a couple of days to recover after the vet set the bones to keep him from hurting himself even worse. Kyle figured that just might be the safest place for him for right now. Considering that the Shadows kept attacking and (loyal dog that he is) Brutus keeps trying to defend the humans around him from them. So Kyle reluctantly left his dog behind at the vet's.

Later, he and Serena were back at the hotel trying to relax after the unusual day that they'd had. Kyle showed Serena that instead of being given a talisman to transform with he now had a mark on his left pectoral muscle. It was in the shape of a sword that looked just like the one he had while transformed with a crescent moon behind it. Kyle had explained to Serena that since there really hadn't been a previous incarnation of his powers that there was no talisman created for him. The tattoo was a bit of an impromptu method created to give him his powers. Serena hadn't ever really thought much about tattoos but she had to admit that on Kyle she found it just a bit sexy. Now that the two of them were alone Kyle told her about his meeting with the former Queen of the Moon Kingdom. Right down to how she had used the crystal to create a new power just for him to weld. Though he wasn't all that excited about the name that he'd been given.

"Well I like The Crescent Moon Knight?" Serena said after hearing what Kyle's alter ego's name was.

Kyle scrunched up his nose, "Sounds like Dungeons and Dragons or World of Warcraft meets the Pillsbury Doughboy."

Serena laughed, "Does that mean that you'll giggle every time someone pokes you?"

"I'll poke you," Kyle said as he pulled Serena closer and started to tickle her. "Or are you saying that I look like the Doughboy?"

Serena was laughing too hard to answer. Finally, Kyle let her catch her breath so she simply said, "I'm not the one that thought of Pillsbury. But now that you've said something about it..."

"Careful," Kyle said while laughing.

"You started it," Serena giggled.

"Very funny," Kyle while leaned back against the couch with Serena. "I guess this means that I'll need to put in some extra time at the gym, then."

"You know, if you really hate the name so much we could make you an honorary Sailor Scout," Serena said with grin. "But you'd look pretty funny wearing a skirt. We'd have to give you a Scottish name so you could try to pass it off as a kilt."

"Gee thanks, but I think I'll pass," Kyle said while rolling his eyes.

"Just trying to point out that it could be worse," Serena said giggling knowing that she now had an image in her head that would most likey stick for days. Causing her to laugh everytime that she thought about it.


	33. A Confession of Truth

Serena laughed as she and Molly ate lunch together at the little diner attached to the arcade that had been their childhood hangout. They spoke with Andrew's sister for a while before she had to get back to taking orders. Then the two ended up going over to the arcade section for a while and played a few games just like old times while Molly filled her in on the latest gossip regarding people that they'd gone to school with.

"Oh! Did I tell you that Mandy Greenwood and Tommy Conner just got married?" Molly said as she turned toward Serena and whispered as the woman in question walked by outside of the arcade.

"NO!" Serena said as she leaned in closer to hear her friend. "When did that happen?"

"Right after graduation," Molly said with giggle. "Though rumor has it that they're staying with her folks for now."

"Why did they get married so soon?" Serena asked while trying to make it look like she wasn't gossiping since Mandy just came into The Crown Arcade.

"I heard that her parents really pushed for it," Molly said then pulled back away from Serena until Mandy walked by. Once the coast was clear she nudged Serena, "She's starting to show already, don't you think?"

Serena's eyes bugged out as she took a closer look at her former classmate. "She's PREGNANT?" Serena whispered.

"It was already out by the time graduation came around," Molly said as she nodded. "Then the quick wedding only sort of confirmed it."

"Don't they know that there's like a hundred different things that you can do to prevent that? I would have thought that Mandy was smarter than that." Serena abandoned the game after the character died one last time.

"So you and Kyle aren't likely to fall into the same group as Mandy and Tommy?"

"OH-NO!" Serena said emphatically. "I don't want kids for a LONG time. There's just too much that I want to do right now. Though, my folks seem to think that I'll be making them grandparents before they're ready."

"They said that?"

"Are you kidding?" Serena said as she and Molly walked out of the arcade and headed to Molly's car. "I went to lunch last week with Mom and she practically announced it to the whole restaurant. I swear I wanted to die right there."

"I can imagine," Molly says giggling. "So have you and Kyle decided when you'll get married? You know, to get your parents off of your back?"

"Um, not really." Serena said, not knowing how she could tell her best friend the real reasons behind not rushing into marriage. "There's just been a lot going on and I haven't really thought about it."

"Like with this fake Sailor Moon running around and attacking folks?" Molly asked, taking a chance that her friend would be straight with her for once about her alter ego. Especially now that they were in her car and Serena couldn't just make up some excuse about needing to go somewhere and walk away.

Serena's eyes went wide. "How? I mean, I…uh…"

"That is part of the reason isn't it Serena?"

"How long have you known?" Serena asked nervously.

"Since Nephlite," Molly said truthfully.

"But, how could you have known?" Serena asked while processing the fact that her best friend had known that she was Sailor Moon from nearly the beginning.

"You knew that he was evil and tried to warn me about him, remember?" Molly said while thinking back to the man that she'd developed a huge crush on as a young teen. "Then when he died saving me, you were the only one that understood why I was grieving. I never had to tell you what had happened. You knew. And ONLY Sailor Moon would have known what had happened to Nephlite. Then there was the fact that every time that a new Sailor Scout showed up a new girl was added to your new circle of friends. It all just seemed to fit."

"Why didn't you ever say anything?" Serena asked as she, too, thought back to the days when Molly had been so depressed after Zoisite had killed the other General.

"I wanted to a couple of times," Molly said while shaking the memories out of the front of her mind. "In fact, for a while I was mad that you never told me yourself. Especially when you started to spend all of your free time with the other girls. I sort of felt left out there for a while. But then I figured out that you didn't want to risk me getting hurt. After all, look at what all happened when Nephlite and Zoisite figured out that I was your friend."

"Molly, you have no idea how much I wanted to tell you but…"

"Well, now that you are getting married, does Kyle know?" Molly asked while eying her friend. If not being told by her friend had been tough she didn't want to think about what could happen if Serena wasn't planning to tell her future husband.

"I told him right after he proposed," Serena said then began to fill her friend in on all that had happened since telling Kyle about her being Sailor Moon. That of course led to Serena backtracking to tell Molly about the Silver Millennium and of being the Moon Princess. In the end, the two were back at Serena and Kyle's room going over the last three and a half (nearly four) years with Serena filling in the various pieces of the puzzle of what all had happened during their teen years when various evils would show up.

In no time at all, it seemed, the two were interrupted by Serena's teacher showing up.

"Mrs. Emerson, I didn't know that it was YOU that was teaching Serena," Molly said as she glanced back at her best friend.

"Molly? How's your mother?"

"Oh, she's fine. In fact, she's probably wondering where I'm at right now," Molly said as she looked at her watch. Her mother was training her to carry on the family business but had told her to take her time with lunch today since she was meeting Serena. Molly doubted that her mother had expected her to be gone this long.

"You two know one another?" Serena asked just a bit uncomfortably since if Molly knew the teacher then she'd know that she specialized in teaching people with learning disorders.

"Oh sure! She comes in every time one of her students graduates to get them a gift. She's been a customer for a long time," Molly said as she watched Serena bite her lip. "I'm just a bit surprised to find her here is all."

"Well," Serena started. She supposed that it'd only be fitting to tell Molly before she told any of the rest of her friends about her disorder. Molly had been her closest and oldest friend; and she did find out about her being Sailor Moon without telling anyone. "Mrs. Emerson is helping me with getting my last year of high school behind me. And with my ADHD."

Molly tilted her head and looked at her friend for a second before smiling, "You know, that sort of makes sense." Molly then hugged her friend before leaving. "It's too bad that no one figured it out before. I'm glad that you're taking care of it now, though. I'd better leave so I won't distract you while you're learning. Talk to you later." With that Molly left out, leaving Serena behind smiling. She felt better now that she had told someone. Now she just had to tell her family and the rest of her friends.

/

Kyle didn't have anything planned for a couple of hours after lunch so he'd decided to go to the gym to work out for a while. After all, he was now responsible for helping Serena fight the Shadows. He was no longer a bystander. Figuring that the slight burns that he'd received last week had been given enough time to heal, Kyle headed over to the rock wall and decided to climb it. When he was nearly to the top of the wall, Kyle reached for a handhold and realized that he wasn't the only one that was trying to use it. Looking over to the other climber Kyle nearly lost his footing when he came face to face with Darien.

"What are you doing here?" Darien asked as he pulled back and started to look for a different handhold.

"By the looks of it, the same thing that you are," Kyle said as he pulled himself up to the next outcropping of holds. Darien glared at the younger man then muttered something under his breath. "I don't think I caught that," Kyle said while furling his brows.

"I said that it's just not enough for you to take my girl, then my place with the Scouts. But you have to even take my gym from me too," Darien said as he then repelled back down to the ground quickly; leaving Kyle to follow suit since he wasn't about to just let the other man take off without saying his peace. Both removed the rock climbing harness that was mandatory to use while at the gym then headed off to the side to talk privately.

"Let's get one thing straight, Darien," Kyle said as he turned the man to face him. "I didn't steal Serena from anyone! She left Tokyo MONTHS before she and I started dating. Have you thought for one minute just WHY that might be?"

"She ran away from home," Darien said. "She ran from the Scouts and from being Sailor Moon."

"And you," Kyle added for Darien.

"That's ridiculous. You don't know what you are talking about. Things were just fine between us."

"Oh really?" Kyle crossed his arms. "Let me ask you something. When Serena left out, what did you think of her as?"

"What kind of question is that?"

"A simple one," Kyle said. "Did you see her as the Princess that you wanted her to be? The heroine that she'd been forced to be as Sailor Moon? Or did you still see her as the fourteen year old kid that needed your protection, still?"

"You're out of line."

"I don't think so. Because I think that she liked being somewhere that she didn't have to be any of those things," Kyle insisted. "Somewhere along the way she stopped being a kid that needed to be protected but even now you and the Scouts see her as just that. She's not a child anymore Darien. And quite frankly, I don't think that you ever knew her half as much as you thought that you did."

"You have no business telling me what I do or don't know about Serena," Darien said angrily.

"Alright, tell me this. If you know her so well," Kyle said while returning Darien's glare. "What are Serena's dreams for the future? The future as in THIS lifetime. Not the thirtieth century. You think that you and she were supposed to have a future together. What would have that future include?"

Darien opened his mouth to reply only to realize that he didn't know. He and Serena had talked about the Moon Kingdom, Rini, about getting married but somehow the parts that filled in the rest just wouldn't come to mind. "She…uh…"

"Serena's more than just the Moon Princess of the past, Sailor Moon or Neo-Queen Serenity. There's a lot to her in the here and now that no one's ever really seemed to pay attention to. She's deserved more than that, Darien," Kyle said as he stepped back to head back to the workout equipment. "A lot more."

/

Kenji Tsukino headed toward his boss's office wondering why he had been called there in the first place. As editor-in-chief of the magazine that he'd worked at ever since he was a struggling reporter he was always so busy making sure that the articles that the monthly magazine published were accurate that he rarely was called up to his boss's office unless he'd allowed something to slip by him. Those published mistakes were rare and dreaded.

Kenji waited for the secretary to announce him then walked through the door to see Mr. Norris sitting behind his desk. "Ah, Mr. Tsukino. Come on in."

"Yes sir," Kenji said as he took the chair that the other man indicated for him to sit in.

"I suppose you're wondering why I've asked you here."

"The thought's crossed my mind," Kenji said cautiously.

"Well, I was wanting to discuss an article that I'd like to have run in the next issue," Mr. Norris said as he moved some papers around on his desk and folded his hands in front of him to give his employee his full attention. "As you know, ever since the Garrets have announced that their youngest was engaged nearly every magazine and newspaper has tried to get an interview with them to get more than the brief press release that they'd issued more than a month ago to no avail."

Kenji shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Yes sir. The Garrets are a very public, yet private, family."

"Well, rumor has it around the water cooler that your own daughter is the woman that has won the heart of the youngest Garret" Norris said while removing his glasses. "Is that true?"

"Well, actually…Yes. Serena is engaged to Kyle Garret," Kenji didn't like what he thought that he was about to hear.

"Then I must ask this. Why haven't you had one of our reporters talk to her yet?" Norris asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Well, it seems to me that this magazine has an inside track on a story of one of the biggest families in the country. It'd only be prudent to use it. Now, I want you to set up your daughter with one of our reporters. After all, there aren't many women in the country that wouldn't want to be in her shoes. It's a story that is just too good to pass up. Almost like a modern day Cinderella meeting her Prince Charming. Thousands of young girls will be living their own fairy tale lives through her when she marrys into the closest thing that this country has to Royalty."

"Mr. Norris, I'm just not comfortable with using my daughter for a story," Kenji said.

"Non-sense. She'll have to get used to talking to reporters eventually. Wouldn't it be better for her to have her own father editing her first interview? Making sure that she doesn't suffer in translation once in print?" Mr. Norris said as he stood up to walk Kenji out to the door. "Now, go ahead and set up that interview. I'd like it to be in next month's issue."

Kenji then found himself staring at the door wondering just how he'd been cajoled into using his own flesh and blood for the sake of business.


	34. Choking on Pride

Serena looked up at the clock and figured that she'd been working long enough. She NEEDED to stretch and give her mind a break. She called the vet to check in on Brutus, to make sure that he was fine since her visit to him this morning. She knew that Kyle was likely going to stop off to see him before he came home which meant that he'd be a little late. Instead she turned on the TV for a well-deserved break. She and Kyle would be heading over to the temple to train with the others after dinner so she didn't feel guilty about not doing any exercising this afternoon. She turned on a game show and started to laugh at the antics on the screen as she heard a knock at the door. Glancing at the clock, Serena couldn't figure out who would be coming to see her right now.

Serena opened the door and was more than a little surprised to find her fifteen year old brother standing at her door. "Sammy? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to come and talk to you," Sammy said while shifting from side to side. "Can I come in?"

"Uh, sure." Serena stepped aside to let her little brother in. "There's some soda in the mini-fridge."

"Thanks," Sammy said before going over to pull one out then turned to eye his sister. It was hard to picture her as anything more than the klutzy girl that he used to torment his whole life. After all, that's what a little brother is supposed to do. Right? Now there was a big to do over the fact that she was getting married to one of the richest bachelors in the country. Sammy pitied the poor guy but it was his choice after all. Who in their right minds would have thought that HIS SISTER would suddenly seem so important?

"So what's up?" Serena asked as she went to sit back down on the couch.

"I wanted to come and talk to you about something," Sammy said as he flopped into the nearby chair.

"Well, go ahead and spill it," Serena said impatiently.

Sammy grinned then shrugged, "Okay." He then tipped his can as if he was going to spill his soda all over the chair.

"Sammy! Don't!"

"I'm just kidding. Geez Serena, you're too easy," Sammy said chuckling.

"Oh, YOU! What was it that you really came by here for? Or do you want to just go ahead and leave now?" Serena said while sitting closer to the edge of the couch.

"Alright, alright," Sammy said with a hand out to indicate that his sister should sit back in her seat. "I overheard Mom and Dad talking last night."

"What about?"

"You," Sammy said simply. "Dad's boss wants him to set you up with a reporter for an article for the magazine. He doesn't want to do it but he knows that if he refuses…"

"Why would his boss want a reporter to interview ME?" Serena asked as she leaned back against the couch.

"Hello! You might have lost the meatballs but you are still a meatball-head," Sammy said while shaking his head.

"Sammy!" Serena scowled.

"You really didn't think that being engaged to KYLE GARRET wouldn't attract attention?" Sammy chuckled.

"Very funny, Brat!" Serena sat pulled her knees up to her chest as she thought about the press conference that she'd been a part of when she and Kyle first announced their engagement. "So why were Mom and Dad talking about it? They could have just asked me? Kyle and I are supposed to be out at the house tomorrow night for dinner, anyway."

"Dad tried to tell his boss that he didn't feel like it'd be right to use you for his job," Sammy said while thinking back to the conversation that he overheard the night before. "But Mom's afraid of what might happen if Dad doesn't do what his boss asks."

Serena bit her lip as she considered what her brother was telling her. "So you want me to just go ahead and maybe volunteer so Dad won't have to ask me?"

"It'd make it a little less weird for him, I think," Sammy said before chugging his soda.

"How am I supposed to do that without him knowing that you came here and told me about everything?"

"Come on, do I have to think of EVERYTHING?" Sammy asked. "You're the older sister. Now I'd better be going. I told mom that I was on my way to see Mika."

"MIKA?" Serena's eyes lit up at the name of the girl that Sammy had been crushing on since he was nine. She was also the girl that made Sammy his Sailor Moon figurine when they were younger.

"Don't start," Sammy said as he stood up.

"Oh no you don't, MISTER!" Serena said while getting up to block her brother from leaving. "Since when did Mom start letting you go over to see a girl at her house un-chaperoned?"

"Look who's talking. You're living with a guy, for Pete's sake."

"Never mind that," Serena said with a wave of the hand. "I want to hear more about Mika."

"Forget it, Meatball for Brains," Sammy said as he reached around Serena to open the door. "I ain't talking."

"Fine," Serena said as she stepped aside to let her brother out of her hotel room. Once he'd stepped across the threshold she then added, "I'll just ask Mom instead." Serena then closed the door and locked it. Serena then ran over to the phone laughing loudly to call their mother while Sammy was knocking to come back inside.

"Open this door you laughing hyena!"

"Nope!" Serena said laughing while waiting for her mother to answer the phone. "You had your chance!" When the line was answered she then said loudly, "Hey MOM!"

/

Serena and Kyle got to the temple right in behind Lita and Mina for their training session. Kyle even brought the bokkens so Serena could show off just what all she'd learned. He knew that Serena was still a bit nervous about training in front of the others but he figured that at least they would finally get a real taste of what she could do now. Kyle, for his part, wasn't really looking forward to having to learn to use magic. It was something that was foreign to him. But then again, the girls all had gotten used to using magic instead of building up their physical abilities so maybe he was just the opposite side of the same coin as Serena and the others. When the couple walked in, Serena wearing her new workout clothes that she'd bought on Saturday, the others all seemed surprised that Serena was on time.

Luna then didn't waste any time with getting everyone started for the night. She figured that Rei would probably be best to help Kyle with learning to use his magical powers later so she teamed him up with Lita during the sparring battle. Opting to team Rei and Serena up for that part tonight. Lita was the most physical of the Scouts so it seemed the obvious choice to have her set up as Kyle's sparring partner. Kyle was good natured about the fact that when he would get Lita into a hold that she didn't seem to be in too much of a hurry to get out of it.

Meanwhile, Rei was stunned at just how much of a difference there was in Serena since the last time that they'd all trained together. Not only by the moves that Serena displayed but the strength that she put behind them as well. More than once Rei had to back off so that she could try to keep her footing. Eventually, though, Rei didn't retreat fast enough and Serena knocked her feet right out from under her. When Rei got up, rubbing the soreness from her backside, she walked up to Serena and had to ask her, "Where did you learn all of that?"

"Kyle's a good teacher," Serena said smiling at the fact that she'd beaten her friend. Not only that but it was clear that Serena had impressed her. "Though, I don't think Lita wants to be a student tonight. She's over there and practically tripping over herself while drooling over him."

Rei glanced back at the man in question then said while shaking her head, "Great, it's just a good thing that we haven't come across an enemy with a major set of pecs before. She'd be useless to us if that ever happened."

"Rei, I hate to tell you this but Lita's not the only one that would be a bit… distracted if that was the scenario and you know it," Serena giggled.

Rei glared harshly at the implication that SHE could melt into a puddle of goo so easily only to have a smile crack her face in the end. "You know, we must have come across some really dumb enemies for none of them to put that together. Five teenaged, hormonal, boy-crazy girls trying to save the world. I guess the planet's just lucky that all five of us never had a date on the same night of an attack."

"Heaven forbid," Serena said shaking her head. "Now I think I might want to go and remind Lita that she's supposed to be TRAINING with Kyle right now. Not dancing."

"I think Luna's one step ahead of you," Rei said as she heard Luna's admonishments about how Lita wasn't taking the training tonight seriously. Rei then started to laugh to herself.

"What's so funny?"

"I was just thinking," Rei said while snickering. "How well do you think our training sessions would have gone if Tuxedo Mask had ever agreed to train with us Scouts? Before or after we knew that he was Darien?"

Serena took a second to think over the question. Especially seeing how both she and Rei had been rivals when it had come to their masked ally's attention. "You and I would have ended up killing one another. Plain and simple," Serena said shaking her head at the thoughts of some of the things that she'd done years ago in effort to get Darien's attention back before they even knew who he was.

"As if we needed another reason," Rei said as she smirked, "Meatball head."

"HEY!" Serena gave Rei a light shove but laughed at the term that had long been used to get a rise out of her. First by Darien, then by Rei and even by Sammy. "I ditched the meatballs, remember."

"Yes, but you'll always be the Princess of the Meatballs to me," Rei said with a wink.

Both young women then reverted back to how they had once settled any argument. The both stuck out their tongues at one another. Though even Rei knew that this time there was no malice behind it for either of them.

/

Later that night, Serena was trying to go to sleep but just couldn't. She was thinking about her brother's visit. She wondered what else he had heard last night to cause him to come over to see her today. Not to mention to ask her to try to figure out a way that her father wouldn't have to go against his principles but stay in good graces with his boss as well. Sammy was supposed to be the annoying little brother that was just always in the background. The two of them had never been especially close. Now here he had come and talked to her about a serious matter that involved their father. When did Sammy start growing up?

Serena shifted a bit next to Kyle while he slept beside of her. She started to absently trace the golden tattoo on his chest as she chastised herself. Here she had put Sammy in a box very similar to the one that she'd been placed into by those that she'd cared about. Sammy had grown up and she hadn't even noticed. Of course she hadn't been around him for nearly a year but still she somehow doubted that she'd have noticed even if she'd stayed in Tokyo. Serena figured that she should try to do the same thing that she'd wanted everyone to do for her. Start seeing Sammy for who he is now. Not just how she'd always seen him. Who knows, maybe she wouldn't find him as annoying as she used to.


	35. Dinner with the Parents

Serena watched the scenery outside of her window as she rode in the car towards her parents' house. She was only pulled out of her thoughts when Kyle reached over from behind the wheel squeezed her hand. "Are you alright?"

"Uh, yeh," Serena said sheepishly at the realization that she'd let her mind wander. "Just thinking about Sammy's visit yesterday is all."

"Are you sure that you want to handle the magazine thing this way? We could still try to come up with something else."

"This is the best thing that I could think of where my father won't feel like he's been put in the middle," Serena said as she shook her head.

Kyle sighed knowing that no matter what he said, Serena would still feel the need to look after her father. It was just part of who she was. "Alright. But you just might be surprised if you let your father take the lead on this."

"I'd just prefer to do it this way is all," Serena said while turning back to the window. The next thing that she knew the car was pulling up in her parents' driveway. She and Kyle both got out of the car and went up the walk and were met by Serena's mother before they even got to the door.

"Hey, Momma," Serena said as she hugged her mother.

"Mrs. Tsukino," Kyle said as he greeted Serena's mother.

"I think that it's time for us to forget the Mrs. Tsukino thing. Please call me Ikuko. After all, we'll be family VERY soon."

Serena eyed Kyle. So the not so subtle hints about setting a date weren't even going to wait until they got inside. Kyle gave Serena a smile then replied to her mother, "Alright, Ikuko. I hope that we aren't late."

"Oh no, you two are just in time for dinner," Serena's mother said as she led the couple inside. As the three walked inside Serena saw Sammy sitting sideways in the lounge chair watching TV. Ikuko swapped at his legs and told him to turn the TV off. After all, they had company for dinner.

"It's not company," Sammy said while rolling his eyes. He grabbed the remote up and flipped the television off before continuing, "It's just Serena." Ikuko glared at her son but continued on toward the kitchen. She'll have to talk to her son about how to behave when one of the Garrets were present. Especially since Serena and Kyle had yet to make it to the alter.

"Sammy," Kenji said quietly, yet firmly. He didn't need for his kids to get into it over dinner tonight. Not if he was going to have to ask his daughter for a favor. Sammy gave the mandatory repentant look then stood up and headed toward the kitchen. He had the distinctive feeling that this was going to be a long evening.

"It's alright. He's right," Serena said quickly jumping to her brother's defense. "I don't consider myself company either." Serena saw her brother give her a questioning look so she just gave him a smile as she started to walk toward the kitchen behind her brother. "Now what do you say if we all go ahead and eat. I'm starved."

"Same old Serena. A bottomless pit," Sammy said under his breath. Serena walked past her brother and lightly smacked him upside the head as she passed him.

"Same old Sammy," Serena echoed only for both children to be called down by their mother. Serena then giggled slightly to herself. "Careful Sam. YOU don't want to end up getting grounded."

Sammy glared at his sister. Oh sure! She would have figured out that she wasn't likely to get into any real trouble with their parents. But HE could still be grounded.

/

Darien looked around the street before walking into the store that he'd talked himself out of going into nearly a half-dozen times already. Still, there was something that Kyle had said yesterday that he couldn't quite get out of his head. He had been so concerned about making sure that Serena was the Sailor Scout and Princess that she needed to be for the future of Crystal Tokyo that somehow he'd completely missed out on what Serena had wanted to do with the rest of her life. Her life before Crystal Tokyo. He must have asked Serena about it at sometime in the last three years but for the life of him he couldn't remember what she had had said. He knew that they had both talked about his career. His plans for what he'd like to do in the future. Even talked about having a family together but that was talking about what they would do TOGETHER. Maybe he'd just assumed that she didn't have any ambition for her own future.

Darien looked up and saw Molly helping a customer over at the counter so he hung back. When the customer finally left Molly came over to greet him. "Darien? What are you doing here?"

"Molly," Darien bobbed his head in greeting. "I was hoping that we could maybe talk."

Molly bit her lip as she looked around towards her mother. "We were about to close up for the evening. I'll be right out after I help Momma lock up."

"Alright," Darien said as he headed back toward the door. About twenty minutes later Molly came out of the jewelry store and headed toward his car where Darien was leaning up against as he waited for Serena's oldest friend to join him.

"So…" Molly asked as she approached the dark haired man. "What's this about?"

"Could we maybe sit down?" Darien said as he indicated toward the car. "This might take a while."

Molly raised a brow at Serena's ex but nodded and got into the car after Darien opened the door for her. Once both were sitting in the car Darien turned in the seat to face the redhead. "I wanted to talk to you about Serena."

"I sort of figured that part out, Darien," Molly said as she too shifted, to watch Darien gather his thoughts about what he wanted to say.

"Have you talked to her since she's been in town?"

"We had lunch together yesterday. Why?" Molly asked.

"Well, I…" Darien suddenly couldn't remember any of the things that he'd planned to ask Molly about. "How was she?" He finally asked.

"Good," Molly said cautiously. "Probably the happiest I'd seen her in years."

"Oh," Darien wasn't sure if that was the answer he'd wanted to hear or not. After all, while he'd never wanted to see Serena upset, he was totally miserable without her.

"I guess that wasn't what you wanted to hear," Molly said as she eyed Darien's reaction. "But it's true. I've seen Serena bounce back and forth between being on top of the world to being so depressed that she could hardly get out of bed in the last several years. I'm glad that she's finally happy, Darien. Really happy." Molly considered telling Darien that she knew about his and Serena's alter egos and how that had contributed a lot to Serena's shifting moods in the past but figured that would only distract Darien from what he'd come here to discuss with her.

"I knew that there were times when she'd be a little down but…" Darien thought back to the times that he knew that he'd been the direct cause of her depression. Intentionally or not. First when he'd been taken by Queen Beryl and brainwashed into fighting against Serena; then not having his memories about him and Serena after the Negaverse had been vanquished. Not to mention when he'd decided that she could only focus on her duties as a Scout or her school work when he wasn't around. And ultimately when he'd thought that he had to stay away from his Love in order to protect her from the dangers that he'd seen in his dreams. That had been for her own good. At least that had been what'd told himself.

"Darien, I'm not sure exactly what happened between you two but…"

"She didn't talk to you about us?" Darien asked. He figured that Serena would have confided in her best friend.

"We sort of drifted apart for a while there, Darien," Molly confessed. She then rethought her previous decision to not inform Darien that she knew about Serena being Sailor Moon. This means that it hadn't been too hard to figure out just who Tuxedo Mask was. "Did you talk with any of the Scouts about Serena?"

"No, not really I…" Darien stopped. "Scouts?"

"I just figured that Serena would have talked to them if it was something dealing with being Sailor Moon or you." Molly said softly. "I know that there was a lot that she couldn't tell me. Not if it involved anything dealing with the Scouts."

"You knew?" Darien as dumbfounded. He hadn't told anyone about being Tuxedo Mask. Not even Andrew and he was his best friend. To think that Serena hadn't kept the fact that she was Sailor Moon disturbed him.

"Yes but Serena never knew that I did. I told her yesterday." Molly said with a nod.

"Did she tell you EVERYTHING that we've learned then? About our destinies?" Darien asked. He felt the overwhelming need to tell his side of why he refused to believe that Serena and Kyle were supposed to be together. Maybe if he could convince Molly of just how wrong this relationship was then she'd help him talk to Serena about it.

/

Over at Serena's parents' house everyone was getting up from the table to go into living room to sit and talk after dinner. Serena told her mother that she'd help clear the table but oddly enough her mother declined the offer and shoved her toward the living room with the rest of the family. Serena then went to sit beside of Kyle while her father started some small talk.

"So, how have things been going since you two have come back to town?" Kenji asked as he tried to figure out how to steer the conversation toward the favor that he needed to ask of his daughter.

"It's, um," Serena exchanged a look with Kyle. She couldn't exactly tell her family what has really been going on since she and Kyle had come to Tokyo. Serena then caught sight of Sammy who was making motions toward his father to try to remind her of their conversation the day before. "Actually, things have been sort of dull," Serena lied. "The only real interesting thing that has been going on is the fact that the phone never seems to stop ringing."

"The phone?" Kenji asked. "What for?"

Serena bit her lip but continued on before she could chicken out. "People trying to get interviews with me and Kyle. Reporters trying to get the Inside Scoop on our engagement."

"Really?" Kenji exchanged a glance with his wife.

Kyle put his arm around Serena, she'd gone this far he might as well as help her out. "Serena hasn't gotten used to being the center of attention yet. But I can say from experience that the longer she goes without giving an interview the more they'll keep hounding her. That's when she thought about the magazine that you work at."

"She did?" Kenji looked back over at his daughter. It looked like this was going to be easier than he thought.

"Yeh," Serena said. "I know that it might be a bit of an imposition but could you perhaps set something up? That way I can go ahead and get my first interview behind me."

"Well of course I could set it up, Serena," Kenji couldn't believe his luck. "If that's what you want."

"It is," Serena said as she once again caught sight of her brother. He silently mouthed what Serena could only assume was a thanks. "And the sooner the better."

"Alright, I'll get to work on setting it up first thing in the morning," Kenji said relieved. He wouldn't have to feel like he'd put his daughter on the spot and would still be able save face at work.

"Well, seeing as how it's bound to be brought up during any interview that you give," Ikuko said. "Have you two settled on a date for the wedding yet?"

Serena groaned and rolled her eyes. "Mom!"

"Like I said, I'm not going to be the only one to ask pretty soon," Serena's mother said.

"Well, we weren't really planning to rush into anything, Ikuko," Kyle said from his place on the couch. "I've still got this last year of college to finish up with and Serena's finishing up her senior year of high school."

"Well, yes," Ikuko started. "But that doesn't mean that you can't at least have some plans in place."

"True, but at the same time we shouldn't make it look like we're in a hurry, neither," Kyle said casually. "After all, if we did then that would just set the gossip columns on fire. Everyone might assume that there was a reason for the rush. I think that we can all agree that we wouldn't want that."

Serena fought a smile knowing that Kyle was using her parents' own fear of impropriety against them. If they were afraid that folks were going to talk because she and Kyle weren't married then they could only imagine what others might think if the two put together a wedding too swiftly.

"I hadn't thought of it that way before," Ikuko said as she furled her brows.

"Yes, in fact that was the reason why my own folks were engaged for nearly four years before they finally got married," Kyle said knowing that was bound to get a response.

"FOUR YEARS!" Both of Serena's parents exclaimed.

"I ain't saying that we plan to wait that long but it's not unusual for folks in my family to have long engagements," Kyle said while he saw Serena fighting a giggle. Now, as long as they set a date within four years, her parents were likely to be relieved when they finally decided when they wanted to get married.

"Besides," Serena then added in behind Kyle's declaration that was sending her parents for a loop. "I haven't decided if I want to go to college myself before getting married."

"College?" Kenji and Ikuko both exchanged looks with one another. By the looks of things their daughter planned to stay single for quite some time, yet.

"Like I said, I haven't made up my mind but it's something to think about at least," Serena said with a wide smile. She had to admit that she loved the looks on her parents' faces. Still, she wondered if her parents would be held off at bay for long or if they would be back to hounding her about getting the date set in no time at all.


	36. Setting up for the Interview

Lita knocked at the door and waited for Serena to open the door. When she answered Serena was on the phone but she waved her friend on in while she continued her conversation for a few more moments.

"No, I think that there should be a fairly big turnout. Especially since the promotional advertisement has already gotten underway." Serena said into the phone. "And we still have several months to go before the season starts. Not to mention that the added publicity from the article should help create a little interest, too."

Lita cocked her head as she listened to what sounded like a business call. Something that was so strange to witness Serena in the middle of. Lita went to sit on the couch and waited for Serena to wrap up her call. When she did and joined Lita on the couch, her curiosity had her asking what the call was about.

"Oh, that was Wendy, Kyle's sister," Serena said with a smile. "We were just talking about some ideas to draw a bigger crowd to the resort town for the Ski Season."

"It sounded like more than just a few ideas to me. It sounded like you were giving directions," Lita said as she turned to sit sideways on the couch. "Besides, isn't it a little early to be thinking about skiing?"

"Are you kidding? The town starts preparing for the next season as soon as one ends," Serena said.

"So just what were these ideas that Kyle's sister seems to have latched onto?" Lita asked not that her curiosity had been peaked.

"Well, the town's slowly became a place where mainly a somewhat older crowd has flocked to in recent years. They make loyal return visitors but they aren't exactly known for being big on renting skis. Or anything else really," Serena replied. "I just had a few ideas about drawing in a younger crowd."

"And Kyle's family is running with them?" Lita asked just a bit surprised.

"A few of them," Serena said with a smile and a shrug. "So, are you ready to give me that cooking lesson?"

"I sure am but I want to hear more about these ideas that you gave Kyle's sister," Lita said as she went over to the kitchenette area of the suite. It was pretty obvious that it hadn't really been used much since Serena and Kyle had moved into the hotel.

"Why do you seem like you are so surprised?" Serena asked with just a touch of annoyance in her voice. "You're acting like I've never had a good idea before."

"Not true," Lita said as she started to look through the cupboards to see just what kind of cooking equipment came with the room. "I'm just not used to seeing this side of you is all."

"Well get used to it," Serena said confidently. "Now, let's get cooking."

/

Brutus watched as Rei came into the vet's office like she did every day since the Shadows had attacked. He wagged his tail and waited as the dark haired woman came into the small kennel that he was kept in while he was healing up.

"Hey there, boy," Rei said as she knelt down beside the dog that had saved her life the week before. "I brought you something." Rei pulled out a wrapped package that contained leftovers from last night's dinner. Brutus gladly ate the treat then nuzzled the woman that had been his afternoon visitor all week.

"Now remember. This is just our little secret," Rei said as she stroked the dog's head.

Rei was glad that the dog couldn't talk. She wasn't sure if she'd be able to live it down if the others knew that she'd been coming here every day after making it be known that she detested dogs in general. Still, Brutus wasn't just an ordinary dog. He had been quick to defend against the Shadows on three separate occasions. The last time being when he'd prevented Shadow Moon from killing her on Saturday night. Rei knew that if the dog hadn't been so quick to jump into the fight that she just might not be sitting in the kennel with the dog. She'd been the one to have ended up hurt; or worse.

"You know, you really do remind me of my own dog that I had when I was little."

Rei thought back to the dog that her mother had given her when she was a small girl. Back before she'd been sent to live with her grandfather after her mother had died. That dog had gone everywhere with her. No matter where the family was sent for her father's work the dog had been her constant companion. Right up until her mother died. Then her dog had up and disappeared during the middle of a time that she could have really used his company. Nothing had been able to console her at the time. Losing both her mother and her best friend all in the same week. From that moment on she had never been able to look at another dog without feeling the pain that she'd felt when she'd awakened to finding that her beloved dog had vanished over-night. Now Rei couldn't help but become attatched to the large dog that had saved her life. Not only had he saved her but he had been proven to be a loyal, brave and protective dog that didn't seem to be scared of the Shadows or their monsters one bit.

Rei sat with the dog and spoke with him for about an hour before she decided it was best if she went ahead and left. After all, she didn't want Serena to catch her here. She was bound to come here every day to check on Brutus. As Rei walked out of the vet's office and headed toward the bus station to return to the temple she was unaware of the fact that someone had been watching her leave from the animal hospital. As that individual watched the Scout of Fire walk away a slow smile crept across their face.

/

Lita tasted the dish that Serena had made, mostly without any help from her at all, and was surprised. "Where did you learn to cook like that? I didn't teach you that."

"Lita!" Serena said dramatically as she hopped up on the countertop beside of where her friend was sampling the food that had just been pulled out of the oven. "I worked in a gourmet restaurant for eight months. Where do you think I learned it?"

"I thought that you worked upfront, not in the kitchen," Lita said as she put her fork back down.

"I got to know a lot of the staff while I worked at the restaurant. I think I should introduce you to the assistant chef. He's pretty hot and you'd like him," Serena said with a grin.

"Hot, huh? How does Kyle feel about you thinking that the assistant chef is hot?" Lita asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Lita, just because I'm engaged doesn't mean that I'm BLIND! Besides, I noticed Brad long before Kyle and I ever went out," Serena said with wink. "Anyway, I'll have to introduce you if you ever come out to see me after Kyle and I head back home."

"So you and Kyle still plan to leave back out?" Lita asked just a bit wary. She'd been hoping that Serena and Kyle would decide to stay in Tokyo for good this time. Especially now that Kyle, too, had been given powers to help them all fight against any evils that may show up after they were rid of the Shadows.

"That is where Kyle's family and everything else is. AND that's where we met and fell in love," Serena said with a shrug. "I'm happy there."

"Oh," Lita said with a bite of her lip.

"Don't be like that, Lita. After all, it's not like I won't be back and forth constantly. The company does have an office here in Tokyo after all," Serena said while putting her arm around her friend's shoulders. "Now, I told you that I wanted to show you some of the moves that Kyle's shown me with the bokkens. Are you ready to have a little fun with the swords?"

"Luna would NOT be happy if she thought that we weren't taking training seriously," Lita said with a forced grin.

"Well, sometimes being too serious can be bad for your health," Serena said with giggle. "I'll go get the bokkens."

/

Kenji sat at his desk as he tried to figure out just which reporter he should send out to interview Serena. He still couldn't believe his luck when it came to it being Serena's idea to be interviewed by a reporter from the magazine. He never even had to ask her for the interview. Kenji looked over the list of various reporters that were available for any new assignments and chose one that he thought would be a good fit for Serena. The reporter was the same one that had routinely covered the various stories involving the Sailor Scouts ever since Sailor Moon first made the scene nearly four years ago. She was an excellent reporter. She should do a wonderful job with this story, too.

Kenji was personally interested in reading the article himself. After all, he really didn't know exactly what his daughter had been doing after she had left town. It should be an enlightening read. Not to mention he had been kicking himself from the day that he'd found out that she had ran away from home. He would like to know just why his little girl had felt that she needed to leave everyone that she knew behind her. Oh sure, he knew that he and his wife may have been a little hard on Serena about her studies but she just never seemed to apply herself to her school work. Then there was his worry about just what could have happened to a young girl on her own that had kept him up at nights worrying over his missing daughter. Kenji was curious about any adventures that his daughter may have had before luck had shone down on her to put her in the path of Kyle Garret. He'd been lucky that his daughter had met someone as good as Kyle was. His easygoing personality had been refreshing when he and Serena came out to have dinner with them. And his explanation about why he and Serena hadn't decided on a wedding date just yet had, after taking the time to really think about it, made perfect sense to him. Even if Ikuko still preferred for the couple to at least have a date in mind.

Over dinner, both last night and when they had all had dinner when Serena had first introduced Kyle to the family, Kenji had been impressed at how just relaxed the young man had been. He would have never guess that he was a member of such an important family. There had been no pretenses about the man what-so-ever. And when Ikuko had been horrified that their daughter challenged Sammy to video game in front of her fiancé Kyle then announced that he'd play against the winner. Which as it turned out was Sammy last night. The look on his wife's face was priceless as she watched 'One of the Great Garrets' playing a Sailor V game. If he hadn't been afraid of what his wife might have said Kenji just might have been tempted to join the younger folks in their fun last night. Kenji smiled as he remembered the antics that had gone on well into the night. Perhaps the next time that the kids decided to have a little bit of fun he should join them.

Standing, Kenji figured that he'd best go and give the reporter her assignment and fill his boss in on the progress of setting up the interview. Then perhaps he'll call it a day.


	37. A Sit Down and Chat

Serena paced back and forth as she waited for the reporter to show up for her interview. The reporter requested to interview her alone at first, asking that Kyle only join them for the second half of the interview. Serena almost wished that she could have waited until Kyle got home to start the interview but she knew that she couldn't come off as being needy. Not in front of a reporter. She had to try to look her very best. After all, this reporter could either make her look as sophisticated or ditzy as she wanted.

"Is there anything else that you might need?" The maid said as she finished cleaning the hotel up for the morning and freshening up the flower arrangement of orchids in the room.

"No thanks, Cindy," Serena said with a smile. "You go ahead and have a good day."

"I'll see you tomorrow then," The maid said with a smile.

Not all of the guests at the hotel were like the couple that stayed in this room. This was her favorite room to clean every day. To some of the people staying at the hotel she was nothing more than the maid. She had no name and was only there to take care of their messes. But when she went up to the Garret Suite she was guaranteed to leave with a smile on her face. Serena had INSISTED that she call her by her name instead of Ms. Tsukino just as Kyle had done on the occasions that he'd still been in the room when Cindy had gone up to clean. In fact, Cindy could tell that when the room was a mess that Serena was truly apologetic for making the maid's job harder. That made those days much easier to mull through. In fact, Cindy waited to clean the Garret Suite once the rest of the rooms on her floor were finished so that she wouldn't be rushed. It was nice to know that not EVERYONE that came to the hotel were rich, uptight, egotistical snobs.

When Cindy left the room and made her way to the staff elevator with her maid's cart she was stopped by a woman in a business suite. "Excuse me. Did you just come out of the Garret's Suite?"

"I'm sorry," Cindy eyed the stranger. "I'm not at liberty to discuss the guests of the hotel."

"Oh, I know that they are on this floor. I have an appointment to interview Ms. Tsukino and I just wanted to double check the room number," Barbara Shinbun said with a wave of the hand. "But I'll be sure to get permission from the management before speaking with any of the staff."

The reporter then turned on her tape recorder in her purse before she turned to knock on the door to Serena's room and waited for the young woman that she'd been sent to interview. She'd still take notes but she learned years ago that it sometimes made folks nervous to see every thought that they were sharing being written down right in front of them. Barbara would play back the tape later on as she prepared to write the article. When the door opened Barbara was greeted by Serena and asked to follow her into the sitting room of the hotel suite.

"So," Serena started nervously. "Where should we begin?"

"Well, I'd like to talk to you about everything that let up to you and Mr. Garret meeting and deciding to get married," Barbara said as she pulled out her legal pad to start taking notes. "We'll just start where ever you are comfortable. I think I will share the title for the article with you and see how you like it."

"Oh?" Serena asked. She had to admit that she was curious about just how the reporter saw this interview going. "And what will the title be?"

"Well, Mr. Norris thought that we'd try to play up the Fairy tale Romance angle up a bit. You know, like how you've met your Prince Charming in Kyle Garret…" The reporter continued to fill Serena in on just how the article was planned to be published while Serena grinned at the image of Kyle being portrayed as Prince Charming. And Charming was exactly what she saw him as. Of course, if Kyle was Prince Charming then she supposed that would make her Cinderella.

/

Sammy waved good-bye to Mika's parents with the promise that he'd be back the next day to see his friend. He couldn't believe that Mika had gotten so sick right during the summer break of the school year. Of course Mika hadn't seemed to feel all that well back at the beginning of the school year back in April. Over the course of the beginning of the school year he had noticed how his long-time friend's health seemed to decline. When Mika started missing days from school it was then that he learned that Mika had a rare blood cancer. Sammy had then made sure that he went to see his friend every day. Whether he had to go to school or not. On days that Mika had felt up to it she would still go to school but on the others Sammy would bring her work to her and would return her work to the teacher once Mika would finish it.

What had really worried Sammy, though, was when she'd stopped making her dolls. Mika was just too weak to do what she loved to do most. Now that she had started some treatments at the hospital she had grown even weaker. Sammy had noticed that Mika hadn't even been following the latest news about Sailor Moon. It was something that the two of them had always done together, especially after meeting the heroine years ago. Sammy almost wished that he could contact the Warrior of the Moon again. Maybe if Mika could meet her again she'd feel better, even if just a little. But how could he ever think that he could find Sailor Moon. Not to mention, even if he did, why would someone as important as Sailor Moon want to come see a high school student.

Sammy kicked the ground as he headed home. Not really wanting to go home but not really having anywhere else to go. He knew that when he got home he was likely to hear his mother on the phone to her friends, name dropping about the fact that one of the Garrets had been over at the house last night. Of course Kyle wasn't anything like Sammy would have expected after living through his mother's constant fawning over the fact that he was marrying Serena. Last night he'd even played a Sailor V game with him; so Sammy figured that he wasn't too bad to have around. Sammy still couldn't believe that he wanted to marry his sister. After all, he could probably have is pick of nearly any girl in the country. Sammy sure would like to know just what the man saw in Serena.

/

"Well, that's really interesting," Barbara said as she shifted in her seat. "So the Garrets accepted you that quickly?"

"The family's wonderful. In fact it was Wendy Garret that insisted that I join the family on a family vacation for the first time," Serena said thinking fondly of Kyle's older sister.

"I see," Barbara replied. "And the family hasn't had any issues with the current living arrangements?" Little was known about the Garrets' personal values but she had assumed that with the fact that most of the Garrets remained engaged for more than a year, sometimes as long as four or five years, that the current living arrangements wouldn't sit well with the rest of the family. This was Japan after all. Things like this just were not common.

"Oh, they're just fine with it," Serena said. "In fact, Lily seemed relieved after she'd come to see me in the fourth floor walk up that I was living in when I moved out of it." Serena giggled as she referred to Kyle's mother, "It made it easier for her to come see me."

"You're kidding?" The reporter was shocked that the two living together had been so well received. "Forgive me for being surprised. It's just that I would have expected a bit more of a... negative reaction to learning of your current arrangements. And how does your own family feel about you and Kyle Garret living together in this manner?"

"As most parents would, I would suspect," Serena confessed. "But they are adjusting. Though my mother constantly asks when the two of us are getting married."

"And when will that be?" The reporter asked.

"We haven't decided on that just yet," Serena said while fighting back a sigh. She'd been prepared for the question but it still was getting on her nerves to constantly have to answer it. "You see, I'm trying to finish up my senior year of school right now and Kyle is finishing up his business degree in college so planning a wedding hasn't really been the biggest priority in our lives right now."

"You are finishing school now?" Barbara asked with her curiosity peaked.

"Yes, you see I was in the middle of the second segment of my senior year when I left Tokyo last year. I'm now finishing it up with the help of a tutor. And with the support from Kyle and his family, of course," Serena said while bracing herself for the questions that were sure to follow. Like why she had left Tokyo in the first place.

The reporter didn't disappoint since that was precisely the question that came next. Serena took her time answering the question since she was well aware of the fact that her father would be reading this article long before it went to print. As carefully as she could, Serena explained that at the time that she'd left town that she was extremely depressed and felt like she was no good to anyone that she knew. Her grades were in the toilet and she was a constant source of frustration to her family, friends, and even her long-time boyfriend at the time. Serena had since learned that the reason why she'd not done well in school was due to a learning disorder which had gone undiagnosed and untreated her entire childhood. Something that her tutor was now helping her with. But a year ago, she had felt like she just needed to make a complete break from everyone that she knew. Looking back now, Serena admitted that doing so without any real plan of what she planned to do probably hadn't been the brightest decision but at the time she just didn't see any other way out of the dark depression that she had seen herself slipping into.

That was when she decided to hop on a random bus that took her to the resort town that she'd met Kyle Garret after getting a job at one of the family's restaurants. Months after starting her job, Kyle had asked her out and it had only been after she had gone out with him that she'd learned just who his family was. Serena went on to describe how Kyle would wait for her after work and drive her home and how the two had seemed to click right from the start. Though Serena had learned that she owed Kyle's sister for pushing him into working up the courage to go ahead and ask Serena out. The fact that Kyle was actually a little shy about asking her out was really sweet in Serena's eyes. Especially since he was such a great guy. Serena even shared how Kyle had snooped so that he could propose to her on her birthday. A fact that the reporter had found completely romantic.

Towards the end of the individual interview, Kyle came home from both work and seeing Brutus at the vet. That then began the second portion of the interview in which the reporter observed the couple together. Kyle took to the interview with a practiced ease of someone that was well used to being in the spotlight, even if he didn't crave the attention. He shared various stories of his own childhood and then spoke of why he'd been so drawn to the lone young woman that had arrived in town out of what had seemed no where. Kyle told the reporter that the first thing that had pulled him to Serena was her smile that she seemed to wear on a near constant basis when she was working. Something that Kyle had attributed the lessened complaints of having to wait for tables at the restaurant to. It seemed that no one really minded having to wait for their table when they had Serena to talk to as they were delayed.

By the time the reporter left, she felt that she had more than enough for the spread that she was responsible for getting together for the magazine. And that was without adding any of the other interviews that she planned as background information for the article. She'd planned to talk to various people that the couple came in contact with to see if the two were as genuine as they seemed. Perhaps even contact former teachers of the young woman, though that seemed to be a moot point now since she had admitted to being a poor student due to an undiagnosed learning disorder.

Barbara Shinbun headed down to speak with the management of the hotel as she started to sort through all that she'd learned of the couple to decide just how she would write up the article for the magazine. Maybe she should divide everything up into separate articles. Or maybe she could devote more than just a page of the magazine's print space to the article. The interview was bound to promote more circulation so she was sure that Mr. Norris wouldn't object to that idea. For now, however, she was particularly interested in speaking with the staff of the hotel. Then she'll decide just where to start the article off at.


	38. Let me tell you a Story

Kenji reached across the desk to accept the copy from the Barbara Shinbun for the article that was to be printed about his very own daughter. He then dismissed the woman and stared at the papers that he'd been handed; not really sure if he wanted to read just what might be in those lines of print that would represent his little girl. Knowing that he was going to have to read it eventually, Kenji picked up the papers and began to read.

A Story of a Modern Day Cinderella Meeting Her Prince Charming

Recently, I was able to sit down with Serena Tsukino, the future Mrs. Kyle Garret, for her very first sit down interview. An interview that has been very coveted by every major news outlet of the country. I'm sure that if you are like me, you have been anxiously awaiting the inside scoop on the romance behind the latest announcement in regards to the handsome and young Kyle Garret with the beautiful and radiant Serena Tsukino. Well, I'm happy to tell you that I have it and am now sharing it with you. I was able to spend time with Ms. Tsukino and Mr. Garret both alone and together and I can tell you that the chemistry between the two was just plain electrifying when the two were in the same room with one another.

I started the afternoon off with a sit down with Serena Tsukino and chatted with her about her life. Both before and after meeting her future husband. I was treated with the story of how this twenty-first century Cinderella met her Prince Charming...

Kenji continued to read as the reporter set the scene of the interview that had taken place in his daughter's suite a few days prior. His brows furled as he read what Barbara had written about why his daughter had ran away the year before. While reading that portion of the article Kenji nearly broke down when he got to the part where Serena had told that she had felt as if she wasn't good enough to stay with her family and friends. Kenji had no idea that his daughter had felt that way. He wondered just how he could have been so blind to his daughter for her to end up feeling so worthless that she decided that the best thing that she could do for everyone in her life was to just leave. To choose a bus at random and not really care where she ended up. He then continued to read and saw that his daughter has recently learned that she had Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. A learning disorder that had made it appear that she wasn't taking her studies seriously when that just wasn't the case.

Kenji's mind went back to all of the times that Serena had been grounded due to poor grades or incomplete work. He couldn't help but feel guilty about the lectures that he'd given his daughter after yet another failed test. He discovered that she'd only learned of her disorder after Kyle had found a tutor to help Serena with her studies once she had decided that she wanted to complete her last year of high school. Apparently he had suspected the reason behind Serena's poor progress in school since he had hired a tutor that specialized in teaching students just like Serena. A student that slipped through the cracks. Whose condition had been ignored both by the education system as well as her very own parents.

Kenji paused in his reading. It was plain to see that when the rest of the country read this it would be clear just how much he and Ikuko had failed their daughter where it had really mattered. Swallowing hard, he finished reading the article nearly in tears before he'd finished the section on Serena's home life. What had cut the most were Serena's own quotes. It was clear that she tried to make excuses for him, his wife and even her friends who had in their own ways failed to be there when she had needed them. When he finished the article he stood and gathered up the pictures that would go along with spread and wiped his eyes. He then carried the article down to the printing area; without changing one word of the article.

Kenji suspected that his wife believed that he would make sure that they would come out in the article smelling like roses but he just couldn't bring himself to alter any of his daughter's words. He knew that Ikuko would have a few things to say about his lack of editing what could possibly be some very embarrassing statements about their family but this article was supposed to be Serena's voice. And to Kenji, it seemed that her voice had been muffled long enough.

/

Luna looked up ahead of her and saw Darien walking down the street in front of her. Luna bolted on ahead and jumped up to land on Darien's shoulder. Darien eyed the cat then ducked down into an alley so that he and the cat could talk.

"Darien, I been wanting to come and check on you," Luna said. "We haven't heard from you in several days."

"There hasn't seemed any reason to come around anymore," Darien said with a shrug.

"Now you know that just isn't true. You are still a big part of this team," The feline said trying to convince the man of the truth that she felt deep down inside. She knew that the Queen had accepted Kyle just as she had years ago back on the Moon but that had been as an adopted son. A brother figure for the Princess. But a brother was NOT what Kyle wanted to be for Serena now. Still, Luna had to admit that he made Serena happy.

"Some big part," Darien snickered. "Seems like Kyle's doing just fine with sliding into my place with the girls."

Luna shook her head, not sure how to respond. "He's not sliding into your place. He just happened to be there when we needed someone to help. And trust me, no one can take your place."

"Then how come I've heard that Kyle's even been out at the temple a lot?"

"He's been studying with Rei," Luna informed the long-term ally of the Scouts.

"You're kidding?"

"No, he's been working with Rei with trying to control the magical aspects of his new transformation and he's been..." Luna stopped herself from telling Darien of how Kyle had been helping the others with their fighting abilities.

"Been WHAT?" Darien asked.

"Well, training, actually." Luna replied.

"Training?" Darien asked a bit shocked. "He's going through training with the girls?"

Darien was a little surprised that the Scouts had asked Kyle to train with them since he couldn't think of a time when he had really been asked to join in the training. Not that he had ever shown an interest in it either. He'd always figured that the girls worked best undistracted by NON-Scouts. He had fought beside them for years but had never trained away from the battle field with them. He'd always preferred to work out and go on runs alone.

"Yes, I've been quite surprised by the fact that he's been joining the girls, too, but it's clear that if we are going to defeat the Shadows WE'LL ALL have to be at our utmost best," Luna said with the twitch of her tail.

"All of us?"

"Yes, which leads me to something else that we need to discuss," Luna said from her perch.

/

Mina crept up behind her friend who was sitting in a library stall studying just like she could almost always be found when she wasn't with the rest of the scouts. With a huge grin on her face, Mina reached around and snatched the book off of the desk.

"ENOUGH!" Mina declared only to be shushed by other library patrons. Mina shrunk her shoulders down then hide down in the cubby out of sight of those that had glared at her from across the room. "You've been staring at that page for nearly fifteen minutes," Mina said much quieter. "Not even you study a page that hard. What's wrong, Ami?"

Ami tried to reach around her friend to grab back her book but sighed when Mina held it just out of arms reach. "Nothing's wrong, Mina. Now give me back my book. I have to finish studying."

"You'll be fine if you take a break. Besides, you likely already know everything in this book anyway," Mina said with a wave of her free hand. "But if you want it back, all you have to do is tell me what has gotten you so upset. I haven't even seen you over at the Crown this week."

"Well," Ami bit her lip, feeling guilty about what she had been feeling. Still, no matter how much she tried not to be, she was offended by the fact that Serena hadn't asked her to tutor her instead of hiring a stranger to do it. After all, Ami had always tried to help her less deft friend when asked. "I was just wondering, why do you suppose that Serena went out and decided to pay for a tutor when she knows that I would have helped her for free?"

Mina brought the book back down to the desk as she thought about the question. "That's what you're so upset about?" Ami nodded. "Come on, Serena said that she knew that you'd be busy. Besides, helping with homework and finishing up a whole year's worth of work in a relative short amount of time are a bit different aren't they?"

"I suppose," Ami said with a sigh. She knew that her feeling of abandonment was silly but she had always been the friend that was turned to for help with school. Mina was the one with fashion sense. Lita knew how to cook any dish known to man just about and Rei was the one that was more in tuned with spiritual energies. Each of them had a special talent. If Serena didn't need Ami to help her with her schooling then just what was her role now that Serena was back?

"Come on. You need to get your head out of those books and I have the perfect place. We're supposed to meet Rei, Lita, and Serena at the beach tomorrow. How about we go shopping for some new swimsuits?" Mina asked as she pulled her friend up from the study cubicle.

"I bought one at the beginning of the summer, Mina."

"Ami, no woman should only have one. Let's go. I even have the perfect store in mind," Mina said as she continued to lead the other young woman out of the library after helping her grab her books.

"I suppose I could use a break."

"Of course you can," Mina said with a smile. "Besides, there's bound to be some hot guys on the beach tomorrow. It never hurts to be ready with the perfect outfit."

/

Kenji walked up to the door of his daughter's hotel room for the third time before finally gathering up the nerve to actually knock on it. When he did he was almost convince that Serena must be out since it took several minutes for his daughter to answer the door. When she did, Kenji could tell that his being at the hotel was a surprise to Serena.

"Dad?" Serena glanced around the hall to see if her mother had come with her unexpected visitor.

"Can I come in?" Kenji asked nervously.

"Uh..." Serena glanced behind her briefly the stepped aside from the door. "Sure, come on inside."

Once inside the door Kenji saw an older woman sitting over on the couch. "I didn't realize that you already had company."

"No, you're fine," Serena said while leading her father further into the room. "We were finished for the day anyway. Dad, this is Mrs. Emerson."

"You are the woman that is helping my daughter with getting her diploma?" Kenji asked as he recalled the name both from Serena and Kyle mentioning her at dinner and from the article that he'd read not more than an hour ago.

"That's right. Your daughter is really a bright young woman, Mr. Tsukino," Mrs. Emerson said as she shook Serena's father's hand.

"So I'm learning," Kenji replied as he gave his daughter a smile.

"Well, I hate to run off on you but I have another student to see about." Mrs. Emerson said.

"I'm sorry that you can't stay. Perhaps you should come to dinner some night," Kenji said. "I'd love to speak with you some time."

"I'll keep that in mind," The older woman said before she bade Serena good-bye then headed out of the door. Serena then turned back to her father unsure of just why he was here.

"I wanted to come talk to you Serena," Kenji started off cautiously. "To tell you that the article was sent to print this afternoon."

"Oh," Serena shifted her eyes a bit away from her father. "Look, I know that I should have told you about..."

"Serena, no," Kenji said abruptly. "I don't want you to apologize for anything. I'm the one that should be apologizing. I never saw just how miserable you were before you left and I should have." Kenji took Serena's hand and led her over to the couch to sit down. "I know that I've always been busy with work but that is no excuse. When I read that article it made me realize just how blind and ignorant I've been for the last several years. I can only hope that you can forgive me." Serena felt tears coming to her eyes as her lip began to quiver. When she saw tears in her father's own eyes she felt like the damn just broke and she launched herself at her father to hug him. She was too overcome with emotion to answer her father so she just cried into his shirt. That was how the two of them stayed for quite a while. Finally, Kenji added, "I really am sorry, Baby."

Serena pulled back and wiped her face as she gave her father a sad smile. She hadn't expected for him to come here like this after reading the interview. "I know."

"I'm especially sorry that it took not only you leaving but an interview with a reporter to get me to see just what all you've been through," Kenji said as he looked his eldest child in the eyes. "You've become quite a young woman right under my nose and I never saw it."


	39. Studying the Art of War

Serena and the other Scouts spent the day at the beach playing around in the surf and sand. It had been a long-time since all five of the young women had gone off like they had done today. Serena enjoyed being able to just sit back on the beach with her friends and soak up the sun. While they were all out together, Serena informed the rest of the Scouts that Molly had told her that she'd known about them all being Scouts since Nephlite. To say that they were surprised was a bit of an understatement to say the least. To think that their secret identities had been known for three years and they hadn't even known it. That started the Scouts to wondering just who else might suspect their secret but have never said anything.

As the day wore on Rei reluctantly looked at her watch in her bag of clothes and saw that it was actually much later than she had originally thought. "Uh, guys. I hate to say this but I think that we'd better all be heading back. Especially since Luna insisted that we'd all be back at the temple for some more training this evening."

"I think that you're right," Serena said with a scrunched up face as she eyed the watch. "Well, let's start loading the car back up," Serena said with a groan. She was glad that Kyle had suggested that she take the rented car today. Going back and forth was a lot easier in the car than trying to get all five of them with their beach gear onto the bus. The Scouts all headed back to the car and rode toward the temple while catching up on various topics; from both Lita and Ami's classes, to Mina's work, Rei's grandfather's latest antics that had embarrassed her in front of some visitors to the temple and even some of Serena's interview. Though she glossed over much of it since she was still trying to find a way to tell them just what all she had told the reporter. Especially after seeing her father's reaction to the article.

As Serena turned the car toward the parking area at the temple, one of her favorite songs came on over the radio so she turned the volume up a bit while saying, "I LOVE this song! It's one of my favorites to dance to in ZUMBA class."

'Cause if it wasn't for all That you tried to do

I wouldn't know just how capable I am to pull through

So I wanna say thank you

'Cause it Makes me that much stronger

Makes me work a little bit harder

Makes me that much wiser

So thanks for making me a fighter

Made me learn a little bit faster

Made my skin a little bit thicker

Makes me that much smarter

So thanks for making me a fighter

"In what class?" Mina asked curious. "You take ZUMBA?"

"Every Monday night," Serena said with a smile while listening to the song. "When Kyle and his father, uncles, and cousins are all off together I go out with his mother and sister and we hit a class then go out for dinner, a movie or something like that."

After all of the fights and the lies

Guess you're wanting to hurt me

But that won't work anymore

No more, uh uh, it's over

'Cause if it wasn't for all of your torture

I wouldn't know how to be this way now

And never back down So I wanna say thank you

'Cause it Makes me that much stronger

Makes me work a little bit harder

Makes me that much wiser

So thanks for making me a fighter

Made me learn a little bit faster

Made my skin a little bit thicker

Makes me that much smarter

So thanks for making me a fighter

"You mean that you and Kyle's mother and sister all just hang out and have fun? I thought that a girl is supposed to dread spending time with her future mother-in-law," Lita said teasing.

"You haven't met Lily, you'd see that no one could dread spending time with her," Serena said as she cut the engine off but left the radio on.

As the car was heard coming up to the temple Luna and Darien walked out of the temple to greet the Scouts. Luna hadn't told the others that their long-time ally would be joining them this evening. Quite frankly, she had not been sure that Darien would really show up. Not with the way things were between him and Serena. But Luna was certain that the extra training was necessary after learning that the supporters of the Shadow Scouts had been causing trouble in their own dimension. Quite possibly as a way to keep the Generals from being able to help the Sailor Scouts fight against the Shadows here in this dimension.

Darien watched as Serena and the girls all got out of the car, Serena bouncing along to the music booming from the car's stereo, and caught the lyrics of the song that she was singing along with.

But in the end you'll see

You won't stop me

I am a fighter I ain't gonna stop

There is no turning back I've had enough

Darien stood back as the women all finished unloading their beach gear. He suspected that none of the others expected him to be here; a suspicion that was only confirmed when one by one they each caught sight of him. When Serena turned away from the car after turning the radio off at the end of the song Darien saw her jaw drop slightly. She was saved from having to ask why he was there when Artemis came up ready for the night's workout session. Seeing the long-time ally, yet ex-boyfriend of Sailor Moon, Artemis eyed Luna. The only one that didn't seem to be surprised at the appearance of the man.

"Darien?" The white cat said slowly. "This is a surprise. What are you doing here?"

"Luna asked me to come and train with everyone tonight," Darien said as he eyed both the cat and the Scouts as they came up.

"She did?" Artemis asked as he turned to face his counterpart. "Luna? Can I talk to you?" Once the two were out of hearing distance Artemis lit into the more dominant feline. "Have you LOST your MIND? Bringing Darien here knowing that things are strained enough as they are!"

"Artemis, you know as well as I do that Darien and Kyle are going to have to learn to work with one another sooner or later. Don't you believe that it'd be best that they try to do it here rather in the middle of a fight?" Luna said before continuing to defend her decision to invite Darien to train with the Scouts and Kyle.

When the two felines finished speaking and returned to where they'd left Darien and the young women the saw that Kyle had joined the group of young people and was sitting with Serena as both men seemed to watch one another in uncertainty.

"So, we're all ready to start training?" Darien asked cautiously.

"Yes," Luna said as she ignored the look that Artemis continued to give her. "I think that the girls should all practice like they used to. To get back into the full swing of everything, this will leave you and Kyle to train together. You can start training with han-"

"Kyle, you have the bokkens with you don't you?" Artemis interrupted. He had the unsettling feeling that a hand-to-hand training session could easily turn into an all-out brawl between the two men. Luna glared at Artemis for intervening with her training tactics.

"Yes. Why?" Kyle asked as he looked back and forth between the white cat and Darien.

"Well, considering that you both carry swords, I thought that the two of you might could use a little practice in that area," Artemis said while ignoring Luna.

"Alright," Kyle said before looking over at Darien. "Are you game?"

Darien nodded as he saw Serena exchange a silent gesture with Kyle. He could only imagine what the meaning behind it was. Still, he figured that this was probably the best way to start out with the training, at least for him. He had been carrying a sword (in his ultimate transformation) for a few years now. Kyle only received his transformation recently. He knew from experience that it took a while to get used to everything that went along with their magical alters.

"Let's transform, then we can get started,"

"Darien," Artemis piped back in. "I think it'd be best to train tonight without any powers. The Shadows have been quiet lately and I'd prefer to not push anything tonight. We don't know if they are monitoring the use of any of your powers."

"Fine by me," Kyle said with a shrug. He preferred to train without using magic anyway. Kyle stood up and caught Serena's eye. In that one look he could swear he could almost hear her telling him to not hurt the other man. Much in the same way she had when he'd fought him in the Negaverse when Kyle had gone there to rescue Serena from the Green-eyed Monster. "I'll get the bokkens."

As the two men started to TRAIN together, Serena couldn't help but watch despite the fact that she was supposed to be paying attention to the other Scouts as they fell into their old practice stances. She watched as she could tell that Kyle's relaxed approach to facing off against Darien was irritating him. Kyle let Darien take the lead on the fight, almost casually fending off the blows as they came from the older man.

"Can I give you a bit of advice?" Kyle asked only to see the annoyance in Darien's eyes grow at the implication that he needed help. "You can't always try to beat an opponent through brute strength," Kyle brought up his practice sword and blocked the next blow. "Finesse can go a long way in a fight."

Darien growled a bit at the fact that the blond thought that he needed some fighting advice. After all, he'd been doing this longer than Kyle had been. This made the fact that the younger man was barely even breaking a sweat all the more nerve wracking. Darien renewed his assault and was surprised when Kyle seemed to be able to anticipate each move that he made. Something that he tried to do in return but there didn't seem to be any predictability to Kyle's own tactics. More than once Darien was grazed by the edge of the wooden sword just enough to let it be known that he should be glad that they weren't using real swords. Darien brought his bokken down to try to gain a little bit of leverage he was surprised when Kyle twirled his own weapon and knocked Darien's out of his hand.

"I guess now would be a bad time to let you know that I've taken kenjutsu since I was little," Kyle said with a slight grin when he saw Darien's look of surprise.

"You what?" Darien asked as he looked up sharply. He then glanced over where the women were all training. It looked as if they had all been too busy to watch Kyle's and his mock battle but Darien couldn't be sure that they hadn't watched from across the way. "And you didn't feel the need to tell me this before?"

"I tried to give you some advice earlier but you didn't want to hear it," Kyle said with a shrug. "Besides, you were making a potentially fatal mistake that I figured that you needed to learn from. Never underestimate your opponent."

"Well thank you, Sun Tzu. Been reading the Art of War have we?" Darien said with a soured expression on his face.

"At least I paid attention to it when I did," Kyle shot back. "Maybe you should take another glance through it."

"Alright, you two," Artemis said from the sidelines. "Now that the two of you have worked off a little steam, it's time to actually start thinking about what will happen in an ACTUAL fight."

The two men stood unmoving as Artemis began to go over just what all he had planned for them for the rest of the evening. Meanwhile, Kyle fought a smile at Darien's irritation at how easily Kyle had shown him up in front of the others. Truth be told, Kyle knew that the reason he'd been able to do so was due to two very important things. One was his training, of course. The other was the fact that Darien had been self-assured at his own ability to defeat him. Kyle then caught sight of Serena out of the corner of his eye. He couldn't tell if she was impressed or upset by the way he'd bested Darien. But, hey, he didn't hurt him. Well, nothing more than his pride at least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The lyrics above are from Christina Aguilera's "Fighter". I thought that it fit Serena for this story.


	40. A Time to Open One's Eyes

Mina finished up her shift at the small store that she worked at a few days a week and passed a news stand on her way home. As she did so she caught sight of Serena and Kyle on the cover of one of the magazines. Mina quickly bought a copy and flipped through it so that she could read the article.

A Story of a Modern Day Cinderella Meeting Her Prince Charming

Recently, I was able to sit down with Serena Tsukino, the future Mrs. Kyle Garret, for her very first sit down interview. An interview that has been very coveted by every major news outlet of the country. I'm sure that if you are like me, you have been anxiously awaiting the inside scoop on the romance behind the latest announcement in regards to the handsome and young Kyle Garret with the beautiful and radiant Serena Tsukino. Well, I'm happy to tell you that I have it and am now sharing it with you. I was able to spend time with Ms. Tsukino and Mr. Garret both alone and together and I can tell you that the chemistry between the two was just plain electrifying when the two were in the same room with one another.

I started the afternoon off with a sit down with Serena Tsukino and chatted with her about her life. Both before and after meeting her future husband. I was treated with the story of how this twenty-first century Cinderella met her Prince Charming. And I couldn't have thought of anyone more deserving of a happily ever after; just like I'm sure that you'll agree once you've read the story of how this incredible young woman met and fell in love with the one and only Kyle Garret.

The story of Serena Tsukino begins right in the residential area of Tokyo where Serena grew up in a modest home with her parents and younger brother. From the outside it would seem just like any other family. One would have never of guessed that one day this seemingly ordinary family would one day cross paths with perhaps the most influential family in the country.

Mina looked up as she bumped into other pedestrians as she tried to read and walk home at the same time. Seeing that the street was fairly crowded Mina closed the magazine and decided that she should probably wait to read the rest once she got home.

/

Ami checked the mail before heading up to her and her mother's apartment after a day full of classes. Mixed in with the mail she saw that her mother's copy of the magazine that had interviewed Serena had come today. Ami usually didn't read the magazine but she knew that she'd read this month's issue. Or at least the article that featured her long-time friend.

Ami headed up to the apartment and put her books away and checked on the food that her mother had set out to defrost for dinner before picking up the magazine and settling on the couch to read the article. Ami skimmed much of the beginning of the article but came up short when Serena discussed her schooling.

"Well, actually, it's no secret that I was a HORRIBLE student," Miss Tsukino had remarked when I asked her about her time at Juben High School. "My parents and friends all tried to help me but no matter what the others did, I just was never able to do any better in my school work."

Miss Tsukino then revealed that she had recently learned just why she had such an incredibly difficult time in school. Shortly after becoming engaged Serena had decided that before she walked down the aisle, she wanted to first finish her final year in high school. When she informed her fiancé, Kyle Garret, of her intention he had been quick to hire a tutor for his fiancée. A tutor that specialized in teaching students that suffer from learning disorders.

When I spoke to Mrs. Emerson, I was told that on her first meeting with the future Mrs. Garret, she saw all of the classic symptoms of ADHD displayed by the very personable young woman. Later the diagnosis was confirmed which allowed for the teacher to customize a lesson plan for the young woman that was tailored for someone with the issues that Miss Tsukino suffers from. She now assures me that her student will be able to complete her senior year in the coming months.

After speaking with Mrs. Emerson I was interested in learning just what all someone with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder goes through. Both in the school environment and in their home-life when left undiagnosed and untreated. That is when I interviewed Dr. Yoshimo who specializes in various learning disorders.

"Most people think of ADHD as a condition that makes it hard for kids to pay attention—or stay in their seats—at school. But symptoms of ADHD affect kids outside the classroom, too, much more than is widely understood. And the consequences of untreated ADHD, even after kids are finished with school, can have a profound impact on their lives. Teenagers and young adults with untreated ADHD are often plagued with impulsivity, failure to think through the consequences of their decisions, an inability to finish what they start and poor judgment. The statistics show that they are more likely to abuse alcohol and drugs, more likely to get addicted, to have early (and unprotected) sex, as well as being more likely to be expelled from school. And people with ADHD are also more likely to get into accidents, and to be seriously injured." Dr. Yoshimo told me when I asked about the potential consequences for an individual that has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder when it is left both undiagnosed and untreated. "Decades of research have shown us that kids with untreated ADHD—not to speak of anxiety, depression and other very treatable conditions—struggle just to become productive citizens. These kids have a harder time holding jobs, staying married, raising children and even staying out of jail. At times, for those that are suffering from the disorder alone, the depression that often times is a constant hidden companion of the students can become too much for the individual to suffer with alone. Unfortunately, suicide is no stranger to the undiagnosed sufferer."

Dr. Yoshimo then gave me a list of common symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Difficulties with attention:

*trouble paying attention

*inattention to details and makes careless mistakes

*easily distracted

*losing things such as school supplies

*forgetting to turn in homework

*trouble finishing class work and homework

*trouble listening

*trouble following multiple adult commands

*difficulty playing quietly

Hyperactivity:

*fidgeting

*inability to stay seated

*running or climbing excessively

*always "on the go"

Impulsivity:

*talks too much and interrupts or intrudes on others

*blurts out answers

*impatience

Ami could read through the list of symptoms and check each one off one by one as she thought about Serena over the years. Ami couldn't believe that she had never put the symptoms together. Some doctor she'll make if she could be so blind to her best friend's plight. She had always assumed that Serena was just too lazy to put in the needed effort into her studies. Ami felt incredibly guilty for all of the times that she accused Serena of not taking her studies seriously. Even for the times that she may not have voiced her disappointment in her friend. Ami now knew that she'd been wrong.

/

Lita had started her dinner then sat on a bar stool at her counter to read her copy of the magazine that had Serena's interview in it. She read through the part about Serena's diagnoses then read just how depressed Serena had been when she had left. Something that Lita knew had to be a lot worse than the rest of them had noticed. For it to have gotten so far that Serena no longer felt worthy to remain with her friends and family, Lita bit her lip as she read through that part of the article. Lita knew that one key reason behind Serena's depression at the time couldn't even be mentioned in the article. Being Sailor Moon has never been easy for Serena; nor has being the Moon Princess. Now Lita was reading of the night that Serena left Tokyo nearly a year ago, discovering just what had happened during the time that no one even knew that she was missing.

"That was when I just couldn't take it anymore. I just grabbed all of the cash that I had on hand, packed a bag and headed to the bus station," Miss Tsukino had said as I could tell that the memories of the time were painful to think back on. "I then just bought a ticket on the next bus that was leaving town and let fate take over. Now I'll admit that this probably hadn't been the smartest thing to do but at the time I just didn't care what all could happen to a teen alone on the road."

The bus took Serena Tsukino directly to the town that she would soon meet her soul-mate, Kyle Garret. Miss Tsukino arrived in the very resort town that the Garret whose heart she would soon steal lived in. Once she had arrived in town she got herself a job as a hostess in one of the restaurants that is owned by the Garrets; one that Kyle Garret just so happened to frequent. When I asked about the first encounters between the couple both spoke of instant attractions though at first neither had been apt to pursue more than some harmless flirting. Miss Tsukino's initial resistance to jumping into a new relationship, while essentially on the run, was understandable but I was curious about Mr. Garret's. He had confessed that it was his sister, Wendy Garret, which had encouraged him to ask the lovely hostess that had caught his attention out on a date.

Imagine my surprise to learn that the youngest of the Garrets has always been seen as a little on the shy side. According to Kyle Garret, this stemmed from two reasons. One, he had learned from watching his cousins and sister dating while growing up that not everyone that showed an interest in him (being a Garret) were sincere. Many times, once people learned just who his family was, they would act in a false manner simply because his family had money. Kyle revealed that it had been refreshing to find someone like Serena who was completely genuine. Two, Kyle Garret confessed that some of his shyness, both when he was younger and even as he had become older, was a result of a learning disorder of his own. For the first time ever, Kyle Garret admitted to a member of the press that he suffered from dyslexia. An issue that he continues to deal with even today.

"Family and friends can help people with a learning disorder by understanding that they aren't stupid or lazy, and that they are trying as hard as they can. It's important to recognize and appreciate each person's strengths; whether they're in sports, drama, art, creative problem solving, or something else," Kyle said as he sat with his fiancée. "I was lucky enough to have the support that I needed when growing up to face the issues the go along with having my disorder. Not everyone is that fortunate."

/

Rei had stopped off at The Crown and had spied Andrew with a copy of the magazine with Serena's picture on the front of it. Andrew had been quick to share his copy and let her read along with him. Rei sat at the counter reading article that featured her friend.

Now one thing that I wanted to know was just how those that the couple interacted with on a daily basis thought of them. Especially after Kyle Garret shared a story about how his parents had insisted that he'd never take the various staff members that worked for the family for granted. A lesson that seemed to have taken hold since the staff that I spoke with, both at the hotel in Tokyo as well as the various part-time residences that the young man has been known to reside in, had nothing but wonderful things to say about both him and his bride-to-be. One story that I found particularly interesting was one that Kyle Garret told me during our interview.

"I can remember when I was about ten," Kyle Garret started off. "I had gotten it into my head that it was alright to just basically become a complete slob. After all, as some of my friends in school had been so HELPFUL to point out, we had someone who was paid to clean up the house so why not. Right? Well, anyway, needless to say that didn't go over well with my folks. My mother pointed out that Amaya, the woman that worked for the family, worked far harder than I knew. The following day off from school I then had to help Amaya with her work to show me just how much work she really did during the average day. There I was, ten years old, cleaning the grout in the bathroom. But it taught me that I shouldn't ever take for granted the hard work that those that worked for the family did on a day in a day out basis."

When I spoke with the hotel staff in Tokyo each employee spoke of how much respect the couple had for those that worked at the hotel…

Rei looked up when she saw that Darien had come into the arcade. Both she and Andrew tried to hide the magazine as the dark haired man approached them.

"What are you reading?" Darien said with a curious smile as he watched the two shuffle a bit as he joined them at the counter.

"Just an article," Rei said.

"I could see that much," Darien said with laugh. "What's so interesting in that magazine?"

Both Andrew and Rei exchanged glances as Darien reached between them and picked up the magazine and saw Serena and Kyle's picture in it. Darien frowned as he eyed his friends then read the article all of the way through. What he read there was admittedly a bit of a surprise to him. First of how Serena had felt when she had ran away the year before then to Serena's learning disorder. He read through the article as the reporter told of Serena and Kyle's ROMANCE. Of how the two dated, going on various day trips and the like, and of how Kyle had even proposed to Serena on her birthday. Finally he got down to where the reporter asked about the couple's plans for the future.

"We haven't decided on that just yet. You see, I'm trying to finish up my senior year of school right now and Kyle is finishing up his business degree in college so planning a wedding hasn't really been the biggest priority in our lives right now." Serena informed me when I asked about the potential date for the pending marriage. Although she did say that her mother was pushing for a date to be set aside (her family not particularly accepting of the fact that Serena had moved in with her fiancé), Serena said that the Garrets had yet to push the couple to make their relationship official. It is well known that the Garrets tend to lean toward long engagements, but the most recently engaged Garret is the first to openly cohabitate with his future wife before the wedding.

Darien looked up the two as they were watching him read the article about his former girlfriend and her fiancé. "I didn't know that Serena's talk to any reporters."

"I think she felt like she had to after a while," Rei said as Darien turned back to the magazine.

Darien read through the reporter's observation about the unusualness of the living arrangements of Serena and Kyle, how such arrangements were still rather rare in Japan but if the Garrets were not bothered by it then perhaps Japan was becoming Westernized. Darien then came to more questions about Serena's intentions for the future.

"No, I don't think that we plan to start a family anytime soon," Serena informed me when I asked about the possibility of children for the couple. "Maybe in about ten years or so. The last thing I want to do right now is to be strapped with a kid while I'm still trying to figure out just what all I want to do with my life."

When I asked what possible plans Miss Tsukino had, she informed me that after completing her high school diploma, she had been thinking about going to design school. Something that all of the Garrets, especially Kyle, have encouraged her to do.

Design school? Darien starred at the words on the paper as he could practically hear Kyle's voice when he'd challenged Darien to tell him what Serena's plans for the future were. He didn't know that Serena had an interest of going to an art school. Reading the article, Darien felt as if he was reading about a complete stranger. He didn't recognize the woman in the article. Feeling stunned at everything that he'd read, from Serena's leaving Tokyo, her learning disorder, to her plans for the future, the Serena on that paper was not the same one that he'd known for years. He didn't know this Serena.

Darien put the magazine back down on the counter then walked back out of the arcade without bothering to finish the article. He had a lot of thinking to do before he was supposed to meet everyone for another training session at the temple tonight.


	41. Being Called out on Untruths

Ikuko was cleaning the kitchen up after seeing to it that supper was finished and waiting for when her husband would arrive home from work as the phone rang. She eyed Sammy who was playing a video game and hadn't moved a muscle to answer the phone. Ikuko dried her hands and picked up the phone and answered it. On the other end of the line was an old childhood acquaintance of hers. Their children had practically grown up together, her daughter only being a year older than Serena.

"Ikuko, I just had to call you. I wasn't aware that your daughter would be on the cover of today's issue of the magazine that Kenji works at. I just finished reading it."

"Oh, Sakura, I hadn't realized that it was going to be out today," Ikuko said as she wondered why her husband had failed to tell her that the article would be in the magazine so soon. "But then there has been so much going on, what with Serena's engagement and all…"

"Well, it can't have you all THAT busy, Ikuko." Came Sakura's response over the line. "Considering that your daughter states right in the article that she's in no hurry to set a date for the wedding."

"She said that?" Ikuko asked as she wondered what else was in the article.

"Oh she says a LOT more than that," Ikuko heard the other woman say. "I thought that you said that you and Kenji sent Serena to stay at your sister's house until she brought her grades up. That was why she hasn't been around here in Tokyo." Ikuko could hear a sneer in Sakura's voice as she called Ikuko out on how she had tried to save face during Serena's absence.

"Well, that had been the original plan…" Ikuko realized that without knowing exactly what had made it into the article she had no way to reply and still be able to come out on top. She would have thought that her husband would have taken out anything that could reflect badly on the family but apparently he hadn't. Maybe he hadn't been allowed to edit the article after all, what with him being her father and all. Ikuko got a sinking feeling in her stomach as she thought about what could be in that article. "It just didn't work out that way."

From over in the living room, Sammy looked up as he noticed that his mother looked positively sick. He paused his game as he tried to listen to his mother's conversation. It didn't take long for him to realize that the call was about Serena, as usual these days. Still, he couldn't figure out why his mother would be upset by the call. After all, after being gone for months, didn't Serena come back as the Golden Child? How had his sister gone from being a complete embarrassment to his parents because she was such a moron in school to being someone that should be treated as royalty just because she's engaged? He missed the days when they both could just torture one another without his parents putting his older sister up on some pedestal. After all, Serena left and that left him here in the house with both of their parents who were being totally neurotic while they were worried about where Serena was. All the while trying not to end up being the ones that were shunned by all of their friends and neighbors. Sammy turned back to his video game while his mother continued on the phone.

"And is this right? Serena has been LIVING with a man for the last two months or so?" Sakura said in shock that a girl that she'd known for her whole life would do something as indecent as to live with a man that she was not married to. "I thought that you and Kenji had done a better job of raising Serena than that. I know that my Igiko would NEVER do something that could disgrace the family like that."

Ikuko was at a loss for words. She had no way to deny just what her longtime friend had said. After all, under traditional Japanese customs Serena's recent actions would bring an incredible amount of dishonor to the whole family. Just as soon as she got off of the phone she ran out to go get a copy of the article, telling Sammy that she should be back before his father came home. Ikuko bought a copy and read the article right there just outside of the store. As she read the pages she was taken aback by what she read but at the forefront of her mind was the question of just how Kenji could have allowed this embarrassment to be published.

/

Kyle waited as the vet assistant went to fetch Brutus for him. He'd finally been given the green light to ahead to go home, though he was still far from healed up. Still, as long as Brutus stayed out of any future battles for the time being he should be fine. Luckily, the only thing remotely resembling a battle lately has been Luna's insistence that he and Darien spar against one another. Oh sure, Kyle knew that in one light the strategy was sound but the feline could have done something a bit different in the execution of that plan. To just spring it on him and the Scouts the other night hadn't exactly been Luna's shining moment to show off just why she'd been the Queen's most trusted advisor. Kyle just hoped that tonight's training session would go a bit better.

Kyle felt a smirk cross his face as he remembered just how embarrassed Serena's ex had looked when he realized that he'd been beaten by The Newbie to the team. He'd admit that a lot of the satisfaction that he'd felt stemmed from wanting to show the other man that he planned to fight for Serena if it ever came down to it. And he could do more than just cast idle threats, too. Serena was happy and Kyle wasn't going to let anyone ruin that.

Still, the other night Serena seemed to border on being a bit frustrated with the fact that he hadn't let Darien know about his previous training ahead of time. That perhaps he'd withheld that information on purpose for the sole reason to embarrass the other man. Well, that hadn't been a conscious decision but it had worked out that way. He'd pointed out to his fiancée that he didn't hurt the other man (which he could have had they gone with Darien's suggestion to use their real swords to practice with) and merely pointed out that making rash assumptions could get him killed. Not to mention, some of those rash assumptions had been what had driven her to leave Tokyo in the first place. In the end Serena acknowledged that perhaps the training session had been precisely what the other man had needed. After all, he needed to learn just what errors he may have made in the past that had made him such an easy target for their enemies to hone in on.

When the door to the kennel area opened, Kyle saw Brutus come strutting out of the back of the animal hospital with his tail just a wagging. Kyle took the leash and walked the German Shepherd out to the car and loaded him up to take him back to the hotel. Kyle then got into the car and started it up to drive back to the hotel.

"Serena is going to be so glad that you're finally able to come home. She's been worried about that furry hide of yours," Kyle said more or less to himself.

"Well I'm glad to be getting out of that hospital, too," Came a deep bass reply from the passenger's seat. One that was so deep that it reminded Kyle of a science fiction movie from the seventies that had a dark clad overlord that would speak through a breathing apparatus.

Kyle glanced over at Brutus as the car swerved slightly in his surprise to hear what had sounded like Brutus talking. After all, there was no one else in the car but him and the dog so if he hadn't been the one to speak then it only left Brutus to be the owner of the new voice. When Kyle pulled over to the side of the road he turned in his seat and looked dumbfounded at the dog that he'd had for more than three years. In that entire time he had never uttered a single word.

"Brutus?" Kyle asked as he watched the dog carefully.

"That's right. You look like you've never seen an animal talk before," Came Brutus's deep reply. "I didn't see you floundering like this when Luna and Artemis spoke when they were over at the hotel."

"I…uh…well I knew that they were going to speak. I've never seen you talk in three years."

"That's because I couldn't talk before," Brutus said while letting his tail wag slightly. "And I can't tell you how hard it was to not let on while in the hospital. Especially when that so called doctor decided to take my temperature."

Despite the awkwardness of the situation Kyle couldn't help but laugh at the image of Brutus biting his tongue so he wouldn't complain at the vet's treatment of him. "Well you could have told me or Serena when we came to see you. We might have been able to try to get you home earlier if we'd known."

"And how would you have proposed that I'd done that without the staff at the vet overhearing?"

Kyle went to answer but stopped since he knew very well that if Brutus had tried to spill the beans to him while in the kennel the staff just might have need some sedatives. "Alright, point taken. I have to say though, I'm impressed that you were able to hide the fact that you can talk while you were in the hospital." Kyle then started to think about why Brutus could now talk where as he couldn't before. He asked the canine just when he'd first discovered that he could talk and came to the conclusion that Queen Serenity must have granted the dog the ability to speak when she'd given Kyle the power to transform. "I guess that'd make you my advisor, Brutus. Think you can handle that?"

"You mean it'd be my responsibility to tell you what to do like Luna does the girls?" Brutus snickered. "I think I can handle that."

/

Kenji walked into the house and found his son in the living room playing a Sailor V game but didn't see his wife anywhere in sight so he asked his Sammy where his mother was at.

"She got a call a little while ago. Mom went out to get a copy of the magazine that came out today," Sammy said as he kept playing his game.

"I wish I'd known I could have saved her a trip. I brought a copy home with me," Kenji said as he laid the magazine down on the coffee table. "I think I'll go change out of my work clothes before supper."

Kenji then left Sammy alone to continue his game in peace. Eying the magazine on the table, Sammy paused his game and picked it up and flipped through the pages until he came across a picture of him and Serena about ten years ago. She was eight and he was five and it was clear that neither of them wanted to sit still in their good clothes to get their picture made. There were also some other shots that showed the family on various family vacations. There was one picture where Serena had buried him in the sand just barely out of reach of the tide that was coming in. Of course that was because she was getting back at him for doing the same thing to one of her dolls earlier in the day. They never did find it if Sammy recalled correctly.

Glancing around, Sammy made sure that his dad was still upstairs before he began to read the article that featured his sister. He had to snicker at the title of the article. It was a bit over the top in his opinion. He started to read the article and saw right from the start that the reporter was planning to really play up the Cinderella image. He then read the rest of the article all of the way through to the end.

I then asked if there was anything that Miss Tsukino would have changed about how she had come to this point in her life to which she responded, "Well, I guess I haven't really thought about it. I know that there were things that I once wished that I could change but now I think that perhaps everything happened the way that they were supposed to. I mean, if things had turned out differently a year ago, I would have never ended up where I could meet Kyle.

Meeting Kyle and his family has been the best thing in my life. They have helped me realize just who I really am. They have helped be discover just what it is that I want out of life. The Garrets never once told me that my dreams are too far out of reach or that those dreams were nothing more than fantasy. Don't get me wrong, my friends and family have always tried to support me in their own way. But take Kyle, for instance, he never once has tried to influence just what he thinks that I should do. He'll listen and let me make my own choice after I have any facts that may be relevant about the choice at hand. I suppose the true gift that is irreplaceable is to know that I'm being heard. And I wouldn't change that for anything in the world. I hope to be able to return that gift to others in my life, too…"

Sammy heard the door open to the front door which caused him to throw the magazine down real quick as his mother came storming through the house.

"Is your father home?" Ikuko asked even though she'd seen the family car in the driveway.

"He's upstairs changing," Sammy said as his mother made her way to the stairs. He shook his head, he was glad that he wasn't in his father's shoes tonight after reading some of what was in the article. Though reading through the rest of it he guessed he could see why his sister had left out all of those months ago. He hadn't really thought that everything had affected his sister the way they had. Sammy figured that he should have though. After all, how many times after a failing test score was Serena literally locked out of the house and told to go to the library and not come back until she knew the material frontwards and backwards? Casting another glance at the stairs, Sammy picked up the magazine so he could finish it.

I asked just what Serena meant by offering the same gift to others to which she replied, "Well, it dawned on me that I had possibly put others in a very similar box like the one I'd been put into before leaving home. Like recently, my little brother Sammy came to me to tell me of a problem that someone that we both knew had. He knew that I could do something to ease the discomfort of a situation that the person was in without ever really revealing that I knew of their predicament. It was a very mature thing to do solely for the benefit of the third party that never even knew that he'd done his best to look out for him. It showed me that my annoying little brother had grown up, a lot more than I had given him credit for..."

Sammy chuckled a bit at the compliment that had been given to him in print. "Same to you, Meatball for Brains. Same to you."


	42. Puzzle Peices

Kyle walked into the hotel suite with Brutus wondering just how Serena would take the latest development in regards to the canine. Brutus walked slowly into the room then sauntered over to the couch and eyed it. Debating on whether or not his ribs could take the jump up to the couch. Thinking better of it, Brutus headed over to the plush dog bed that had been set up in the room for him when they moved into suite.

"I guess this means that you won't be jumping up on me and Serena for a while," Kyle said as he watched Brutus forgo the couch.

"Kyle, do me a favor and don't try to be funny," Brutus said as he carefully laid down on the dog bed.

"Sorry," Kyle said apologetically. "If you're in pain I can give you one of your pills. Maybe now I won't have to hide them in a piece of cheese to get you to take them."

"Ugh! I'll pass. Do you have any idea just how terrible those things taste?"

"Suit yourself," Kyle said before heading over to the kitchenette to fill the dog's water bowl just like he'd always done. "If you're going to be stubborn about it I'm not going to force you to take them."

Serena had been down in the hotel's salon getting her roots touched up when the two had returned to the hotel but she now came into the suite as Kyle finished getting everything set up for the German Shepherd. "Brutus! Am I glad to see you back out of that hospital!" Serena when she saw that dog lounging in his bed.

"Serena, there's something that we need to talk about." Kyle said as exchanged a glance with his furry friend.

"What about?" Serena asked as she turned back to her fiancé.

"It's about Brutus…" Kyle started as the Imperium Silver Moon Crystal began to glow on its own. The three in the suite then felt as if they were briefly transported to a time long ago. Watching as events of the past replayed themselves before them.

/

A young Kyle snuck along the garden wall. He'd planned to meet Serena out here to go exploring the nearby town. Both he and the Princess had been plotting a way to avoid the ever watchful eyes of their guardians for weeks. They had heard how some of the older kids around Court would get together to go ice-skating just beyond the palace walls. Kyle knew that neither he nor Serena were supposed to leave the palace walls, especially Serena, without permission, but Kyle knew all too well that Serena's curiosity would take her to the ice rink so he figured that he'd best go along with her. At least then he could keep an eye on her. Not to mention that if they were going to get into trouble at least they would be in trouble together.

When thirteen year old Serena finally made it out to the garden wall where they had agreed to meet at, the palace was beginning to grow quiet as most of those that lived there were starting to turn in for the night. "I wasn't sure if you were really going to come along or not." Serena whispered as she crouched beside her best friend behind the bush that Kyle had been waiting behind.

"If I hadn't had been here would you have headed back inside?" Kyle whispered back as he glanced around to see if there was anyone else around.

"No," The Princess said with a mischievous grin. "But this wouldn't have been nearly as much fun if you hadn't had come. Come on. I want to get to the rink before everyone leaves for the night."

Kyle wondered just how he always seemed to be so willing to dive head first into trouble right in behind the Princess. "Hold up," Kyle whispered as he put a hand on Serena's arm to pull her back behind the bushes. "We've got to be careful if we don't want to get caught."

"By who? Luna and Artemis are with my Mother. And we both know that we can go unnoticed by most of the guards," Serena said as she tugged on Kyle's sleeve. "What are we waiting for?"

Kyle fought some laughter as Serena's enthusiasm became contagious. "Alright, but let me go first. That way if someone spots me you can always slip back inside."

"Trying to be my protector?" Serena asked giggling.

"Always, Princess," Kyle replied with grin. He then looked around one last time before heading over to where he and Serena would routinely climb the wall when they wanted to slip out of the palace. "Wait right here."

Kyle then hopped up on the wall and rolled over to the other-side of the wall and glanced around to check to see if anyone had spotted him. He then called to Serena to let her know that they were in the clear. Serena followed in behind Kyle who helped her down off of the wall. It was only after both were on the outside of the palace wall that they were stopped short by a loud and booming voice.

"Would the two of you like to tell me just what you are doing?" A large canine said as he came up out of the shadows.

Both Kyle and Serena looked back and forth between each other and the dog. They hadn't had many dealings with any canines of the Moon. The felines were of the diplomatic class of the animal races on the Moon whereas the canines were more security oriented. In all of the times that the two had ditched their guards neither had ever come across any of the canines that patrolled the outer gates of the palace.

"We…. Uh… We were planning to go for a walk," Kyle floundered as he stood in front of the Princess as he was uncertain just how to handle being confronted by a canine.

"I think you two should come with me," Came the deep reply of the large dog. "I'm sure that the Queen will be most distressed to learn that the two of you were planning an unaccompanied outing."

The two young teens then followed the dog as they were taken to the Queen's chambers where she and her two feline advisors were having a private meeting. The two teens felt as if they were years younger being brought before the Queen after a misdeed. Serena gave an apologetic look to her friend, knowing that he wouldn't have been out there and gotten into any trouble if she hadn't insisted. She knew very well that Kyle wouldn't have stayed behind at the palace if he knew that she planned to go out. Serena watched as her mother spoke quietly with the canine then she dismissed the Guard Dog and turned to face the two not so young children anymore in dismay.

"Brutus says that he found the two of you over the wall. Is this true?" Queen Serenity asked while she watched both of the young people exchange glances.

"Yes, you're Highness," Kyle responded first. "In all fairness, though, I did go over the wall first. The Princess was merely following in behind me."

Queen Serenity raised an eyebrow at the statement. She somehow doubted that Kyle would have gone out to the palace wall if he didn't have reason to believe that Serena wouldn't be there. She'd noticed that he rarely allowed the Princess to get into too much trouble alone. Even now he was trying to take the brunt of the guilt to spare Serena.

"Alright, Kyle. Artemis will see to it that you go to your room while I speak with my daughter. I'll be in to speak with you in a bit."

"As you wish, you're Majesty," Kyle said then followed the white feline out of the Queen's chambers.

As he left, Kyle saw that the canine was still in the hallway and watched as he was led back off to his room. He didn't know why but he had the feeling that the canine would one day play a much bigger role in his life than to just catch him sneaking out one night. And he would, too. Five years later the canine would fight right beside Kyle on the Moon's darkest day. Both would give their lives in defense of their home and for the ones that they loved. Both would die a warrior's death within mere minutes of one another.

/

"How could you have let that be published in the magazine?" Ikuko asked in exasperation. "And how come you didn't warn me that the article was running today?"

"My job was to check for errors on the story, not to rewrite it, Ikuko," Kenji said while trying to be patient with his wife. "And I thought that I'd be home before you heard about the article. Did you read the article? Did you read what our daughter said about why she left?"

"Of course I read it. And so has everyone else that we know by now," Ikuko said as she thought back to the call that she'd received from her longtime friend. "And now they also know that Serena has been living with Kyle for the last couple of months and they AREN'T in a hurry to get married!"

"Ikuko, is that the only thing that caught your attention when you read that article? We had come close to losing our daughter. For good. Right now I don't care if we are going to be shunned by everyone that we know. We've been given a second chance with our daughter and I don't intend to waste it."

"But, Kenji…"

"And if you're worried about Sakura and all of the rest of your friends, I'm sure that they will get over the living arrangements pretty fast if you don't show that it bothers you," Kenji said as he finished changing out of his work clothes. "After all, you've been going on and on about being connected to the Garrets now that our daughter and their son are engaged. If none of this bothers them then I don't see why we should be. After all, we don't have as far to fall in the community as they do. Now, let's head on down for supper. I'm starved."

/

Over at the temple, Rei and the other girls were all discussing the article that they each had read before coming early to the temple for their training tonight. "I can't believe that Serena never told any of us about all of it. I mean, she's been back in town for a couple of weeks now," Rei said as she stared at the cover of the magazine that Mina had sitting in front of her.

"Maybe she didn't know how to," Mina said as she put her chin on her knees.

"I don't know why none of us saw it all before," Ami said while still feeling guilty after reading about Serena's learning difficulties. "She would have never just assumed the worst in any of us."

"That's because her greatest strength is her heart," Lita said as she thought back over the years. She let it go without saying that the greatest strength also came at a horrible price for their friend. She always gave so much of herself that sometimes there was nothing left at the end of the day for herself.

Rei nodded as she considered just how far she herself had pushed their friend and leader of the years. They were slowly mending fences that Rei had never acknowledged had been knocked down but they were likely a long way away from being where they needed to be.

"So now what do we do? Where do we go from here?" Rei asked as she looked at each of the others.

"I suppose the first thing we should do is to apologize," Mina said. "REALLY apologize. For everything."

"I'm not even sure just where to begin," Ami said.

/

"I can't wait until Luna and the others hear you, Brutus," Serena said with a giggle knowing that Luna just might come out of her fur when she hears the canine speaking. "It's getting pretty irritating that we only get certain memories whenever the crystal decides to do that glowing thing, though. I don't see why we can't just be shown EVERYTHING and be done with it."

"Don't you think that you just might go on information overload, Serena?" Kyle said with a chuckle as he parked the car.

"Maybe, but you'd think that with it being almost FOUR WHOLE years there wouldn't be anything left to learn about the past," Serena said with a slight sulk.

"There is always something new to learn, Princess," Brutus said from the backseat. "Besides, until recently there has been no reason for you or any of the others to have regained your memories of myself or Kyle. I did not play a large role in your everyday lives on the Moon. Nor did I play one in Kyle's until he began his training as a Royal Palace Guard. Only then did I even begin to play a significant role in his life."

"He's got a point," Kyle said as he opened the car door and let both Serena and Brutus out. "And if things had happened differently in any number of things then our roles back on the Moon wouldn't have mattered one bit. You wouldn't need to know about either of us." Serena creased her brow at the truth of what was being said. If she hadn't left Tokyo she likely would have never met Kyle in this life-time. The idea of never knowing Kyle didn't sit well with Serena. He was now as much a part of her as anyone ever could be. "Anyway, if you'd learned about me back when you first learned about the Moon you just might have looked at me a bit differently than you did when we first met at the restaurant."

Serena thought about how the relationship that the two had back on the Moon seemed to be more along the lines of a big brother looking after his little sister and smiled. No, she didn't look at Kyle as a big brother, NOT AT ALL. "Alright, I'll give you that one," Serena said with a laugh. "It still bugs me though at the idea of always being one puzzle piece away from having the whole picture."

"It sounds like the others are already here," Brutus interrupted as he perked his ears up to listen to what the other Scouts were saying through the window of Rei's rooms up ahead. "And it sounds like Kyle and I may want to stay behind for a few minutes."

"You and Kyle?" Serena asked in confusion. "Why?"

"I believe it can be summed up with three words. Emotional Girl Talk," Brutus said as he looked up at Kyle. He figured that those words alone would be enough to make any red-blooded male of any species to think twice about going into a room full of women. "And to be honest, I'm not sure that my ribs can handle an emotional outburst right now. I think I'll wait until the emotions aren't running quite so high before I go in."

"Oh…" Serena glanced toward the temple's living quarters. "I suppose I can see that being a problem."

"We'll be right behind you," Kyle said as he gave Serena a quick kiss.

Serena headed into the temple and caught what the others were saying just before she got to Rei's room.

"I should have been able to notice that something like that was behind Serena's not being about learn very well," Ami's voice could be heard.

"And how would you have known, Ami?" Serena asked as she came into the room. Serena saw the magazine on the low table in front of all of her friends and suddenly understood just what had started the conversation that she'd walked in on. "Uh, guys. I didn't realize that was put out yet. I was planning on talking to all of you about it before you read it. You see I …"

"Serena," Lita said. "You don't have to try to explain anything to us. It's our fault for not paying attention to you before now."

Mina stood up and hugged Serena tightly, "We're sorry for not being there for you when we should have been. Can you ever forgive us?"

Outside, Kyle leaned against a tree and eyed the large dog. "You want to tell me what's going on in there?"

"They're just getting around to saying some things that needed to be said. That's all," Brutus said.

"You're not going to give me more than that?"

"If you want someone to ease drop and give you all of the details, go find a cat," Brutus said while shaking his head.


	43. Where do you want me?

Luna and Artemis both approached the temple and saw Kyle and Brutus outside looking as if they were waiting. Artemis approached Kyle while Luna kept her distance from the large dog that she still didn't trust all that much.

"Kyle, what are you doing out here instead of inside?" Artemis asked the newest member of the Scout Allies.

"The girls are all having a chat. I figured that I'd give them some space," Kyle replied.

"I think I'll go and join them," Luna said as she veered as far away from Brutus as she could while slipping past him to the temple. "I'll remind them that we're here to train tonight. Not chit-chat."

Once Luna was out of sight Kyle drew Artemis's attention and said, "Artemis, while they're all inside I think we should talk, too."

"About what?" The white feline asked.

"Do you remember any of the canines on the Moon?" Kyle asked while he exchanged a look with Brutus.

"Canines?" Artemis asked then studied Brutus. "Well, I didn't have much contact with them. Few of them worked within the palace itself. Why?"

"Brutus," Kyle said to give him a nudge to reveal himself to the other guardian. Artemis glanced between the two of them before Brutus finally exhaled before speaking up.

"Because I was a member of the Palace Guards," Brutus said from his place on the ground.

Artemis took a step forward to try to place the canine from the Moon. He had very few dealings with any of the Outer Guards but he did seem to remember a few occasions that stood out in his mind. "How long have you known?"

"When I awoke at the veterinary hospital I began to get glimpses of my past," Brutus said as he shifted on the ground. He could feel his battered bones protesting him lying on the hard ground. "It hasn't been easy to not let on until I was released from there."

Artemis nodded as he understood. It was never an easy thing having to hide the fact that he was more than an ordinary cat on the occasions that he needed to go to the animal hospital as well. Then getting an idea, he glanced back at the temple where Luna had just gone. "Can I ask you something? Would you like to help me get back at Luna? She's been ragging on me for weeks and I'm just itching to see her jump out of her fur."

Brutus chuckled, "From the looks of it, that wouldn't be a hard task to manage at all."

/

Luna walked into Rei's private room and found all five women in the middle of a very emotional crying-fest. She glanced back and forth from one Scout to another and tried to figure out just why everyone was crying so.

"What's going on in here?" Luna asked as she stepped closer to the young women who were all huddled around Serena.

"Luna, we've just…" Ami started but stopped to wipe her tears.

"I think that it'd be easier to explain if you just read this," Rei said as she opened the magazine up for the cat to read it.

Luna gave the dark haired woman an odd look but hopped up on the table and began to read the article, noting from the very beginning that it was about Serena.

Serena watched the cat read the article a bit nervously. After all, with the reactions of first her father then her friends, she just wasn't sure what to expect. All of this and she had yet to even read the finished article herself. Serena watched as Luna's tail twitched as she read, unsure if it was out of aggravation or not. After the feline finished reading the article she stared at the pages for several moments before turning and jumping into Serena's arms. Without saying a word she nuzzled her Princess.

"It's alright, Luna," Serena said as she hugged the cat back.

/

Shadow Moon walked down the street in disguise as she tried to figure out just how to get the Imperium Silver Moon Crystal from Sailor Moon. Obviously, going after the Kyle in this dimension won't work. He proved when Shadow Mars had tried to capture him that he wouldn't be a push over if they tried to capture him. And that had been before he'd been given the power from the Moon Crystal to transform into The Crescent Moon Knight. That was something that Shadow Moon still couldn't figure out. The Kyle of her world had no such power. Why was it that he could transform here? Of course, in this world even Tuxedo Mask was on the Scouts side whereas in her dimension he'd joined Queen Beryl after she had RESCUED him from her and the other Shadows.

Shadow Moon wandered as she considered any other weaknesses that Sailor Moon could have that would force her to hand over the crystal that Shadow Moon needed in order to finally achieve victory in her own battle against Queen Beryl. Looking up, she saw a magazine stand up ahead and caught sight of her counterpart's picture on the front of the cover. Shadow Moon snatched up a copy and shoved the kiosk worker away from her as he protested her taking a copy without paying for it. She then read the article quickly. As she did so she began to devise a plan to retrieve the Crystal once and for all. After all, Sailor Moon wouldn't want anything to happen to any innocent bystanders. Those who aren't even aware that Serena is Sailor Moon. An evil grin cracked her face as she thought about the possibilities. There were so many, she only had to choose just where to start.

/

Kyle, Brutus and Artemis waited outside until the females all made their way out of the temple. Meanwhile Artemis filled Kyle in on the plans for tonight's training session. Mainly that Kyle would be working on his magical abilities more while the girls and Darien worked on their fighting abilities. At the mention of the other man that was to join the group, Brutus's ears perked up as he sniffed the air.

"It would seem that we are all here now," Brutus said to inform his companions of the arrival of the masked ally.

"Right on time," Artemis said as he noticed that the girls were approaching the large area that would be used as their training area. The cat exchanged a look with the canine and walked around in front of Luna to discuss the night's schedule only to end up asking just why all of the women looked as if they'd been crying. Luna included.

"We'll discuss it later," Luna said as she tried to get her mind back to business. Meanwhile Darien had walked up to the training area but remained off to the side just a bit.

"Alright," Artemis said while eying his fellow feline. "There's a few other things that we need to discuss but as you said, we'll discuss them later."

Luna nodded then said, "Rei, you go ahead and start training with Kyle." Behind Luna Brutus was coming up slowly as she started to give orders for the night. "Darien, you and the other girls will need to split up and will begin training with hand to hand."

"And where should I go, Luna?" Came a deep bass voice from behind Luna which caused her fur to stand on end as she screamed.

Kyle and Artemis both began to chuckle at the black cat's reaction.

"Brutus?" Lita asked. "Since when could you talk?"

"It has only been a recent development. Once Kyle was awakened and given the power to transform I, too, was awakened," Brutus said as he sat down behind where Luna HAD been standing. Currently, she was now on a tree limb over-head. "I served as a Royal Guard that would keep watch over the palace walls and would help to train the new guards as they came along."

Rei eyed the dog and remembered all that she'd told the large canine in confidence while believing that he couldn't repeat what she had said. She began to wonder just what, if anything, the dog had said to Serena or Kyle.

Luna looked down from her perch on the limb and glared at the other feline who was still laughing, "You knew about him and you didn't say anything. Didn't you, you obnoxious fur ball?"

"I did say that that we had a few things that we need to discuss," Artemis said while trying to look innocent. Serena and most of the other girls all giggled at the cats as they began to bicker back and forth and the two men bit back chuckles as well as the black cat let it be known that she didn't think that there was anything funny about scaring her out of her fur.

Rei, meanwhile said that she needed to go back inside to get some things together for Kyle's lesson in the magical arts and slipped away. Rei then stood in her rooms as she remembered her chats with the dog with embarrassment. It was only when she felt a nudge on her leg that she looked down and realized that the dog in question had come in with her.

"Rei,"

"Brutus, I hadn't realized that you followed me in here," Rei said as she looked down at the dog.

"I was going to ask if you'd mind if I stayed in here while everyone trained. The ground is still a bit hard for me right now," Brutus said.

"Oh… yeh, sure," Rei said as she indicated toward some of the cushions on the floor. "After all, it's the least that I can do. Seeing as how you got hurt protecting me."

"Are you alright? You look a bit… upset," Brutus said as he went over to lay down on one of the cushions around the low table in the center of the room.

"Do I?" Rei asked. "Well, I guess I'm just wondering…What all have you talked to Kyle and Serena about since letting them know that you can talk?"

Brutus cocked his head as he studied the dark haired woman in front of him. "Rei, when you talked to me, you said that it was to stay just between the two of us. And that's exactly where it'll stay. I promise."

Rei breathed out a sigh of relief, "Thanks. I'll owe you one."

/

Outside, Serena had been paired off to spar with Darien as the Scouts were all preparing to practice their hand to hand. Ami was filling Artemis in on the magazine article which left Lita and Mina to spar against one another as well. Serena had waited for Darien to make a move not really knowing how Darien would take the mock-battle. Now the two were going back and forth, testing one another. Darien wasn't sure just how to look at Serena now after he'd read the article about her just that afternoon. He'd never seen her as confident in her fighting abilities as she was now. When Serena came up with a crescent kick Darien grabbed her foot but was surprised when Serena reversed her momentum and brought her other foot around as she twisted her whole body. The move resulted in Darian getting knocked in the side of the head with the foot that had come up second. He released Serena after receiving the blow which allowed her to roll away to regain her footing. Once she had her feet back under her Serena waited for Darien to get over his surprise before she continued with their sparring.

"Where did you learn that?" Darien asked not really able to hide the fact that he was impressed. She had caught him off guard. He was able to fend off any of her blows easily but he'd been caught completely blind-sided with the move.

"Do you really want to know?" Serena asked since she was well aware that her talking to her old boyfriend about her fiancé could be a bit awkward.

"Kyle?" Darien asked knowing that it had to be the only really obvious source of the move that Darien highly doubted had been taught my Luna or Artemis on any of their prior training sessions.

"He started helping me as soon as we left out of Tokyo the last time. Wanting me to be able to hold my, even against stronger opponents," Serena said with a nod.

"I see," Darien said as he and Serena continued their friendly face-off.

In doing so he continued to be amazed at the difference between the Serena that he'd seen before she'd left Tokyo without telling anyone where she was going nearly a year ago and the Serena that was before him now. Each time Serena fell down Darien expected for her to turn on the waterworks. Instead she remained focused and would get back to her feet and wait for him to continue once more. In doing so it only cemented his belief that the woman that had returned to Tokyo was a stranger to him.


	44. A Visit from Sailor Moon

Serena nearly pulled Kyle behind her as the two walked down the street toward the arcade while laughing. "You've had enough business lunches for a while," Serena said as they neared The Crown. "You could use one lunch where you don't have to think about business or…" Serena lowered her voice before adding, "the Shadows. You're still young and should have fun every once in a while. You MISTER are playing hooky for the rest of the day."

Kyle chuckled, "Alright. The rest of the day is yours. No business." The automatic doors to the arcade slid open and the two went in; Kyle letting Serena decide just what games they would play first. It was no surprise that it happened to be a Sailor V game. "Are you sure that you want to start off with this one? If memory serves, I beat the pants off of you the last time that we played this one."

"Maybe I let you win," Serena said with a wink. "Besides, what's wrong with a little rematch?"

"Alright, but don't say I didn't warn you," Kyle said as he slipped the coins into the machine to start the game.

"Kind of cocky for someone that sits behind a boring desk all day," Serena teased as she began moving the controls of the game.

The couple then started to play the game until they were both getting hungry so they went over to the eatery that was attached to the arcade. Once there Serena saw that Molly and Melvin were having lunch too so she led Kyle over so that they could join the other couple. Serena had fun introducing her fiancé to the other two and even enjoyed watching Melvin's face turn red when Molly teased him about how at least SOME men weren't too scared to pop the question. Serena had piped in to help in the teasing and mentioned that Molly and Melvin HAD been going out since they were in the eighth grade. Kyle, meanwhile, only sat back and enjoyed watching Serena having fun with her friends. Eventually, Melvin's only recourse was to try to divert the women's attention by pointing out Serena's brother who was over in the arcade section with Mika.

"Aren't they so cute together?" Molly said with a grin. "I think your brother has gone over to see her everyday since she's gotten sick."

"Sick?" Serena asked since when she had talked to both Sammy and her mother neither had mentioned that Mika was sick.

"You haven't heard? Mika's missed a lot of school lately. Word around says that she has cancer of some kind," Molly said softly so that other's around the table wouldn't hear. "But Sammy's been going over to see her every day."

"That's so sad. I wish that there was something that I could do for her," Serena said as she watched her brother and his girlfriend playing a racing game.

Molly glanced over at Melvin, knowing that he didn't know that Serena was Sailor Moon and figured that she'd better word what she said carefully. "I know. The only thing that I've heard is Sammy saying that Mika has always talked about how she'd love to get to meet Sailor Moon again."

"Again?" Kyle asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sammy and Mika were rescued by Sailor Moon about three years ago," Molly said with a smile. "It really is too bad that we couldn't get a message to her about Mika. It'd make her day if she got to see her. Especially more than just a quick glance after being attacked by a monster."

Serena grinned, "Hey, you never can tell. One never knows just where Sailor Moon will show up." After lunch Serena told Kyle what she had planned and told him to go on and check to see how Brutus was after his afternoon alone and she'd meet up with him in a little bit.

/

Sammy and Mika had stayed at the arcade for as long as Mika had felt like it. Today had been a good day for her but being out and about, spending time at the arcade had really wore her out. So now they were heading back to Mika's house so that she could try to relax a bit after her day of fun with her best friend. The two headed toward the bus stop to catch the bus that would take them to Mika's neighborhood. The two teens made small talk and chatted about some of their friend from school. Slowly, the two made their way to Mika's empty house. Both of her parents were at work and wouldn't be home for a few more hours.

Serena waited in her form of Sailor Moon until after her brother and Mika were both in her house before revealing herself to the two. At first she stood at the window just as she had when the two had caught their last look of her when she had saved them years earlier. Making it where they saw only her silhouette.

When Mika looked over at the window she grabbed Sammy's arm and pointed at the window to see if he saw the same thing as she did. "Sammy, is that who I think it is?"

Sammy stared at the image of the heroine behind the curtains. He couldn't believe that Sailor Moon was really here. He'd been wanting to find a way to get word to Sailor Moon for months to see if she would come see Mika and now here she was.

"Sailor Moon?"

Sailor Moon stepped through the curtains and smiled at her brother and Mika. "That's right, I'm Sailor Moon. Champion of Justice and friend of the innocent."

"What are you doing here in my house?" Mika asked dumbfounded.

"A little bird told me that you could use a little cheering up, though it looks like your friend has been doing a pretty good job of doing just that already," Sailor Moon said as she smiled at Sammy and Mika. She wondered how her annoying little brother that loved to torture her could be the same guy that was so sweet to his friend that had been dealing with a horrible diagnosis. She then walked a little further into the house so that she could talk to the two and do the best that she could to brighten the girl's day.

/

Darien started towards his car to head home when he sensed Serena transform into Sailor Moon and instantly felt a familiar sense of dread at the thought that Serena could be in danger. He felt certain that the Shadows must be attacking her. After all, they had been too quiet lately. As fast as he could he went right to where he could feel that Sailor Moon was at. He found himself in a residential area when he reached where Sailor Moon was. He watched as she left a small typical house and headed away from it and made her way between the neighboring houses as she slipped away. Tuxedo Mask quickly caught up to her as she reached where she had hid her rental car just as she was prepared to power down.

"Sailor Moon? What was the problem? Why did you transform?"

"Tuxedo Mask?" Sailor Moon turned and was surprised to find her masked ally coming towards her after obviously racing to help her with what ever opponent she may have been facing at the time. "I'm sorry, I didn't think about the fact that you can sense my transformation. I was in the neighborhood visiting a sick friend of Sammy's that wanted to see me. I just wanted to make her feel better. For once there's not a big emergency."

Tuxedo Mask breathed a sigh of relief when he realized that there was no danger. He then smiled at the knowledge that the woman before him had been on a mission of a completely different kind when she'd transformed. "There's nothing to be sorry about. I'm just glad that everything is alright." Tuxedo Mask suddenly didn't know what else to say to his former girlfriend. He glanced around as if trying to decide if he should leave or not. "I guess I should leave then."

"Tuxedo Mask," Sailor Moon said to stop him as he turned away.

"Yes?" Tuxedo Mask asked expectantly.

"Thanks for being concerned and coming. After all, you didn't know that I wasn't in trouble," Sailor Moon said with shrug. "It's nice to have someone around that you know will be there if you need them."

Tuxedo Mask looked at Sailor Moon for several seconds before nodding. "I just wish that you knew that before. I'll always be here Sailor Moon. Always." With that he took off and disappeared.

Sailor Moon shook her head, "I wish that things didn't have to be so complicated," Sailor Moon then prepared to power down only to be interrupted by a scream from a couple of houses away. "That sounded like Mika!" Sailor Moon ran back to the house that she'd just left and saw that the front door had been kicked in. Inside, Mika was alone. "Mika! What happened?"

Mika backed away as she heard Sailor Moon's voice, "Sailor Moon? Is that you this time?"

"This time?" Sailor Moon asked in confusion.

"She looked just like you. She said to give you a message," Mika said shaking.

Sailor Moon frowned. If someone looked just like her then that meant that Shadow Moon had been here. But she didn't see Sammy anywhere anymore. "What message? Mika, where is Sammy?"

"That woman... She took him and said that she'd make an exchange for him and you'd know what she wanted. Otherwise she'll kill him," Mika said hysterically. "Why would someone take Sammy?"

"It's alright," Sailor Moon said as she put her arms around the younger girl. "I'll get him back. I promise. Is there somewhere that you can go? I don't think that you should be here with the door busted in."

"Yes, I can go... Oh no! I have to tell Sammy's parents! They have to know what's going on!" Mika said as her eyes grew wide.

Sailor Moon thought about her parents and how they were going to take the news of Sammy's kidnapping. She couldn't exactly tell Mika to not tell them but she wished that they wouldn't have to worry. "Alright, go there and then call your parents to tell them where you are so they can get someone to take care of that door. I'll go and get Sammy back."

/

Mina looked at the clock and counted down the minutes as she hovered over the time clock so she could leave the video store that she worked at part-time. She was down to two minutes and counting when her communicator chimed. Mina looked around the employee break room where the time clock was at to make sure that she was alone then answered it.

"Mina here, what's going on?"

"Mina," Serena's voice came over the communicator. "Everyone is meeting at the temple PRONTO!"

"Has something happened?" Mina asked when she heard the tone in her friend's voice.

"Shadow Moon's kidnapped Sammy. She says that she'll kill him if she doesn't get the crystal."

Mina's eyes widened. In all of the time that they had been fighting as Sailor Scouts no one has ever kidnapped one of their family members. Rei's grandfather had been turned into a monster once but they were able to fix that. But to TAKE Sammy? To Mina that was even worse than when their enemies would take any of them. After all, Sammy was an innocent bystander and had no powers what so ever to protect himself with. What really hit Mina was if the Shadows were willing to go after Serena's brother then she wondered just who might would be next on their list.

"I'm on my way! And Serena, we'll get him back safe and sound. Don't you worry about that," Mina said as she turned her communicator off. She hoped that what she had just said was truth. They had to get him back.

/

Sammy woke up after having been knocked pretty hard in the head back at Mika's. He looked around and tried to figure out just where he was at. It looked like he was in some weird cave with a ruined throne like chair on the other end but what really caught his eye was that he was NOT alone in the cavernous cave. No, the woman that looked just like Sailor Moon that had busted down Mika's door was there with what looked like Sailors Mercury, Venus and Jupiter. But they didn't sound like the heroes that he'd known about since he was younger. In addition, there were strange looking monsters all around and eying him as if they were all starved and he was a four course meal. He was suddenly glad for the force field that his cell was made up of at the side of the cave.

"Well, look who's finally awake," Shadow Moon said once she realized that Sammy was awake in the cage that she'd had Mercury to erect for their prisoner. "Welcome to our temporary base of operations. You are now the key to us finally being able to win not only our fight against the Sailor Saps but against Queen Beryl as well."

"What do you mean?" Sammy asked as he stood and faced the blond that had kidnapped him. "I'm no one special."

"Oh, but you are," Shadow grinned. "Because you are here Sailor Moon will come running to the rescue. And when she does, I'll finally be able to take the crystal that should be mine anyway."

"What makes you think that Sailor Moon would come and rescue me?" Sammy asked confused. Sure she had come to see Mika today but surely she had more important things to worry about than to come to his rescue.

"You really don't know, do you?" Shadow Moon giggled. "How is it that Sailor Moon has been able to hide just who she is from even those that know her the best?"

"Huh?"

"Your sister will be here soon enough to rescue you I'm sure," Shadow Moon said and watched as the information seeped into the teen's mind. "I have plans to make. In the meantime, make yourself at home." She added with a wicked chuckle, "Because if Sailor Moon doesn't do exactly what I tell her, this will be the last home you'll ever have. Well, before I let these youmas tear into you that is. You see, they've been trapped here ever since their Queen was destroyed by your sister years ago with no fresh energy to drain. I'm sure they'd just love to zap your energy if Sailor Moon doesn't show."

"Sailor Moon... Serena?" Sammy asked in shock. His sister couldn't be Sailor Moon. Could she? After all, she was always late, constantly overslept, a klutz and a big cry baby. But then again, they did have the same hairstyle (or did before Serena dyed her hair after she'd left Tokyo), and they did kind of look alike...Oh Lord, he's had a crush on his SISTER for the last three years without even realizing it!

"Shadow Moon," Shadow Mercury said. "We've set all of the detectors at the known entrances. We should know the moment anyone tries to come here."

"Good," Shadow Moon said. "We can't have our guest make an unscheduled departure before Sailor Moon hands over that Moon Crystal. As for you, Brat, I hope for your sake that she wants you back. I'm not sure I would."

Sammy swallowed as he realized that his fate lay right in his older sister's hands. He thought now that maybe he shouldn't have always been so quick to tease her over the years. He promised that if he got out of this alive he'll never tease her again. Well, not unless she really deserved it.


	45. Like the Shadow of the Moon

Kyle arrived at the temple where Serena was pacing in Rei's room with Brutus right behind him. So far he was the first to arrive to the temple out of the others that had been called after hearing that Serena's brother had been kidnapped. He went over to Serena and wrapped her in a hug as he could see that she was just barely holding it together with what had just happened.

"Kyle, I was there and left Mika's not more than a couple of minutes before Shadow Moon busted in. She had to have followed me. That's the only way I can see that she'd have been there," Serena said as she buried her face in Kyle's chest.

Kyle smoothed Serena's hair back held her close as he said, "We'll get him back. We'll just have to wait for the other's to get here and we'll come up with a plan."

When Luna and Artemis joined them the black feline was at a loss as to why Shadow Moon would have waited all of this time to take Sammy NOW. After all, she'd already been in Serena's parents' house back before Serena had returned to Tokyo the first time. "If they were going to do something like this I would have thought that the Shadows would have done it then."

"Shadow Moon attacked Sammy before?" Serena asked as she lifted her head back up. "And you didn't TELL ME?"

"I...uh... Shadow Moon went to the house in search of the crystal shortly after she first came to town. I'd forgotten about it until now," Luna said just a bit embarrassed.

"How could you FORGET that my family has already been put in danger without me even knowing about it?" Serena shouted as she turned to face the feline.

"It was clear that she was after the crystal, that was when we moved it from Lita's. Shadow Moon didn't seem interested in your family at all," Luna said while trying to explain herself to the upset woman.

"Serena," Kyle said as he pulled her back to him again. "It's not her fault. No one thought about this happening. Yelling at Luna won't help bring Sammy back."

Serena's shoulders slumped as she leaned back into the blond man. She then started to quietly cry, not the cry that Luna or any of the others were used to seeing from her. This was not the cry that they had long since learned to tune out. This was the kind of cry that was heart breaking.

In a matter of moments all of the others began to show up in response to the call that had gone out to alert all of the Scouts and the two men of the kidnapping. Already, Rei was using the fire to meditate and search for where Shadow Moon had taken Serena's brother. When she found him she was surprised to realize that the Shadows had taken Sammy to Queen Beryl's destroyed Throne Room.

"I've got him," Rei announced, "He's alright but he is in the Negaverse."

"Well let's go get him," Lita said as she stood ready to head out and raid the Negaverse to bring the captive back home.

"Not so fast," Came the voice of Shadow Venus from the doorway. All of the Scouts and allies turned to see the Scout of Hate and Jealousy leaning up against the door. "Stay right there," The woman said as she saw everyone begin to move toward her in response to learning that one of the Shadows were in their own mist. "Unless you don't want to hear just how you can get your brother back, Sailor Moon."

"What have you done to him. If you've hurt him I swear I'll..."

"He's unharmed. If you want him to stay that way you'll come to the docks in one hour. Alone. A portal will open for you there and you'll be taken to your brother. You'll hand over the crystal and the two of you will be sent back. If you don't show up then we'll assume that you don't care what happens to your brother. But if we see ANYONE else other than you, Sailor Moon, there won't be anything left to rescue. All it will take is the HINT that you are trying to double cross us and you won't see your brother again," Shadow Venus said with her arms crossed. "One hour, Sailor Moon. Don't be late." With that Shadow Venus vanished before the eyes of all of those that were gathered in the temple's fire room.

"What are going to do?" Mina asked as she stared at where her doppelganger had been standing mere seconds before. "We can't hand over the crystal but we have to get Sammy back."

"Ami, do you think that you could use your computer to find another way into the Negaverse?" Darien asked.

"I'm not sure. Maybe but we have no idea just where those door ways will take us. We could be lost for days if we don't take the right one in," Ami said as she whipped out her computer.

"But if they see the rest of you they'll kill Sammy," Serena said while fighting the tears that wanted to fall from her eyes.

Brutus cocked his head then spoke up, "What if they don't SEE your back-up?"

The Scouts, felines and men all turned to look curiously at the canine. Only three of whom understood just what the dog meant.

/

Shadow Jupiter approached Shadow Moon and pulled her aside. "I don't get it. Why did you have the rest of us to choose targets if you were going to pull this stunt?"

Shadow Moon smiled at having confused her ally. "This STUNT as you have put it is a test. It occurred to me that in order for yours and the other's missions to succeeded that we needed to be more aware of just what both Sailor Moon and The Crescent Moon Knight are capable of. We've spent months learning the limits of the remaining Scouts and Tuxedo Mask but we have little knowledge of THIS Sailor Moon and we know nothing of her new boy toy. I have no doubt that Sailor Moon will be accompanied when she arrives. When that happens we'll need to be sure to catch everything that happens so that when you and the others set your own plans into motion that we'll be prepared for what they currently feel are their secret weapons."

"Then why all of the melodrama back there?"

"Merely for the brat's benefit. We can't have him telling his sister that we wanted her to rescue him, now can we?" Shadow Moon replied.

"What about the youmas?" Shadow Jupiter asked.

"They are mindless and only need a little guidance. The Beryl of this dimension made them too easy to control. We may be able to use them in the future but for right now they are great for scaring the kid," Shadow Moon said.

"But we couldn't control Tuxedo Mask when he was The Green-eyed Monster. What makes you think that we can control these youmas?"

"Like I said, Beryl's already beaten them down. They have no humanity or conflicting loyalties," Shadow Moon said. "Now let's prepare to meet our guests."

/

When Mika got to Sammy's house she went running inside without even stopping to knock. She shouted for her friend's mother and had brought her running as she told her of Sammy's kidnapping. That had sent Ikuko to calling her husband and the police as well. She called both Serena and Kyle's cell phones but received no answer and she'd even called the hotel only to be told that neither had been at the hotel in quite some time. A message would be given to them to have them call Ikuko back but for now she would not be able to tell her daughter of Sammy's kidnapping.

The police took Mika's statement and went over to her home to see if there was anything that they could do to bring the kidnapped teen back but after learning that Sailor Moon was involved they conceded that there wasn't anything that they could really do for the missing boy. Tracking the kind of evil that Sailor Moon and the other Scouts fought was just a bit beyond their capabilities. That left Sammy's parents and friend with no answers; all worried out of their minds while in the family room in the Tsukino home. Ikuko and Mika clung to one another on the couch while Kenji stood by the window and wondered just where his son was at. He hated having to sit here and hope that a stranger could bring his child back to him safely. He also wondered why his son, out of everyone in the city, was chosen to be taken by this evil woman that looked just like the woman that he now depended on to bring Sammy back home safely.

Kenji thought about just how much this family had been through lately. First Serena left home, though that had a much happier ending than it could have. Then learning of why his daughter had left and realizing just how close he'd come to losing her for good. Now he was faced with the possibility of losing his only son. He just couldn't fathom why something like this was happening to his family.

/

Sailor Moon stood at the end of the dock and waited for the portal to the Negaverse to open so that she could go in and rescue her brother. She knew that the others were just out of range and waiting for Serena to go through the door before following in behind her. Still, she felt alone on the dock even though she knew that she wasn't. But it certainly felt like it standing here on the end of the pier. A feather light brush against her cheek helped to tap down Sailor Moon's fears for her brother and her own self-doubt for the moment. She couldn't afford to be distracted right now. Sammy was counting on her.

After standing on the end of the pier for what had seemed like ages the portal finally opened up and Sailor Moon boldly walked through it. After all, what choice did she have? She just hoped that Shadow Mercury's computer was calibrated the same way Ami's was. That way this plan would work. As Sailor Moon stepped over to the other side of the portal she was met with three youmas on either side of the tunnel. Fearing that it was a trap, though she should have expected it, Sailor Moon nearly turned to leave back out of the tunnel since there was no way that she could fight so many of them alone. But she didn't. Instead she swallowed hard as she saw that each of the youmas eyed her but remained where they were. At the other end of the tunnel she could see Shadow Mercury waiting for her.

"The youmas have been instructed to let you pass. They are merely here in case your friends decide to join us," Shadow Mercury said. "Now if you want to see your brother, come with me."

Sailor Moon gave a curt nod then took a step forward to follow the Shadow Scout. She wished that there was a way to warn the others. They needed to know just what was waiting for them when they crossed over to the Neagaverse. They were going to be met by a veritable army of youmas. Not something that any of them had anticipated. They had only figured on the four remaining Shadow Scouts to deal with. The youmas make things just a bit trickier. Sailor Moon was then led to an all too familiar chamber; one that held unpleasant memories for her of the final battle with Queen Beryl. At the very end of the chamber she could see Sammy behind a force field similar to the one that she'd been imprisoned by when she'd been taken after returning to Tokyo by The Green-Eyed Monster.

When Sammy saw Sailor Moon walking into the cave like room he wasn't sure if he should call out to her or not. And if he did what should he call her? Sailor Moon? Serena? What? He stood up from where he'd been sitting on the ground and watched as the blonds with meatballs on their heads faced off. The only real difference between them was that Sailor Moon was alone. Shadow Moon had three other Scouts with her along with the youmas that were right outside the room.

"I wasn't sure if you'd come or not. I'm kind of surprised that you did, I wouldn't," Shadow Moon said as she grinned at the predictability of her opponent. "But then, I'm glad that I'm an only child. Afraid to tell your parents that you lost you baby brother because you didn't want to give up a jewel?"

Sailor Moon's gaze darted over to Sammy, he wasn't supposed to know that she was Sailor Moon but she didn't see the shock that she'd expect in Sammy's eyes at Shadow Moon's statement. After exchanging a look with brother that she hoped would be reassuring she turned her attention back to the Shadows before her.

"Alright, I'm here and I have the crystal. Now let him out of there!" Sailor Moon said with as much bravado as she could muster.

"Only after you hand over the crystal," Shadow Moon said with her hands on her hips.

"No! I've come this far. It's your turn," Sailor Moon said as she stood her ground.

Shadow Moon worked her jaw a bit, wondering just what the other Scout of the Moon had up her sleeve. "Fair enough. Jupiter," Shadow Jupiter nodded then sent a bolt of lightning toward the cell just ahead of Sailor Moon's warning to her brother to get away from the force field. Sammy jumped away from the edge of the cell but not before his hands caught some residual energy from the lightning bolt that struck the force field as he raised them to protect his face. He heard Sailor Moon cry out his name as he fell back on the ground behind him.

"You didn't have to do that!" Sailor Moon said as she started to step toward her brother.

"Ah-uh. First the crystal, then you can check on your brother," Shadow Moon said with a wag of a finger.

Sammy didn't know what was so special about the crystal but obviously if that evil woman wanted it so badly then it had to be pretty important. "Don't do it Serena!" Sammy called out from where he was trying to stand up after being struck down. Not all that easy to do since he couldn't use his hands to help him now that they were burned. "If you give it to her now she won't let us out of here anyway!"

"Shut up you brat!" Shadow Moon shouted.

"HEY!" Serena said as she scrunched up her face. "I'M the only one allowed to call him a brat!"

"Well you can call him dead if you don't hand over that crystal," Shadow Moon said as she gathered up a ball of dark energy.

"Sammy, start walking toward the tunnel that I came from," Serena said as she indicated toward the tunnel that she'd been led into the throne room from. She hoped that the others had made it through to the Negaverse and had taken care of the youmas that had been guarding the portal. If not this was going to make for one short rescue. "I'll put the crystal on the ground once Sammy is in front of the tunnel. Then we're leaving together."

"Of course," Shadow Moon smirked. When Sammy got close to the tunnel's entrance Serena slowly put the crystal down at her feet then stepped just as slowly away. Shadow Moon looked at the jewel on the ground and eyed Shadow Mercury. "Scan it. Make sure it is the real crystal."

"I'm already on it," Shadow Mercury said as she pulled out her computer. Meanwhile Serena was continuing her trek toward her brother. Keeping one eye on the crystal that was lying on the ground the whole time, nearly holding her breath while Mercury finished her scanning. When the dark Scout spoke up once more Serena barely allowed herself to release her breath. "It's the real crystal alright. I can't believe it, she's actually giving us the crystal," As Shadow Mercury spoke up a strange alarm was sounded overhead.

"What's going on?" Shadow Moon asked as she approached the crystal to pick it up from where Sailor Moon had placed it.

"Five humans have breached the portal that we'd brought Sailor Moon in. They are fighting the youmas that were left to guard it," Shadow Mercury responded as she read the screen of her computer.

"Five? Shouldn't there be six?" Shadow Moon asked as she stooped to pick up the crystal. When she placed her hand over where the crystal was she encountered a barrier of some kind. "Hey? What's this?"

With a shimmer, The Crescent Moon Knight was then revealed to be squatting next to the crystal with his hand covering the gem. "On second thought, I think we'll be taking this with us after all," Kyle then struck Shadow Moon to send her flying away from the Imperium Silver Moon Crystal.


	46. And Now you see Him

Kyle hadn't been sure if he was going to be able to stay invisible for as long as he had before revealing himself when Shadow Moon had reached for the Moon Crystal. It had been his job to keep hold of the gem after Sailor Moon had appeared to leave it for her opponent on the ground. Never letting it out of his grasp. Still, when he'd practiced during his training sessions with Rei after they'd discovered just what kind of magical abilities he'd been given with his transformation he had only remained invisible for a few moments at a time. This had been his first try at maintaining the power for such a long time.

When Shadow Mercury began to scan the crystal Kyle had been afraid that the scan would show him hovering over the jewel. Fortunately, the scan hadn't picked up on his life force. Then the alarms went off and he'd been certain that he'd been detected. Instead he learned that the others had arrived, though he didn't think that he could count on the calvary arriving just yet. Not with the six youmas that had been guarding the portal that needed to be disposed of first. Kyle now stood to face the four women that were now gearing up for a full-fledged battle.

"Run Sammy!" Serena said as she saw Shadow Jupiter powering up for an attack. Even as she shouted for her brother she was already heading in his direction and jumped toward him just ahead of the blast.

"Serena!" Sammy felt himself being knocked backwards as his sister tackled him.

Kyle raised his sword to catch the energy blasts that were sent in his direction as he tucked the crystal safely away then looked to where his fiancée was lying motionless where she had collapsed after she had leapt between Shadow Jupiter and Sammy. He saw Sammy trying to wake her but he could tell from where he was fighting that something was wrong.

"Get her into the tunnel!" Kyle shouted at the teen as he continued to deflect the attacks of the four evil women in the throne room. He, too, hoped that the others had done their part to make sure that they had a clear shot to the portal so they could get out of here.

Sammy jerked his head as the man that had appeared out of nowhere shouted at him. He stood and looped his arms under his sister's arms and started to drag her down the tunnel. As he pulled his sister with him he could hear fighting coming from the other end of the tunnel as well. He was now caught in the middle as battles raged on either side of him. Sammy stopped dragging his sister and once again tried to awaken her. When he did he saw that Sailor Moon had electrical burns all along her back and running all of the way down her legs. Burns that matched the ones that he now had on his hands from Shadow Jupiter's blast of energy that she had used to lower the force field.

"Come on, Meatball-Head. You've got to wake up," Sammy said softly as he crouched beside of his sister and hero in one. It was so strange to be coming face to face with the fact that his sister was not the crying, cowardly klutz that he'd always seen her as. She had taken the brunt of the blast that was meant for him. Something that had taken him by surprise. Not only has she come to rescue him but she put her life on the line as well. "Come on Sailor Moon...Serena, you have to wake up so we can get out of here."

Sammy lifted his head when he heard footsteps coming from the other end of the tunnel that he had been heading toward before he heard the battle ragging up ahead. He wasn't sure what to expect after everything that he'd seen today but he hoped that the footsteps belonged to the other Sailor Scouts since he had no clue how he'd handle seeing more monsters heading his and Sailor Moon's way. When the falling footsteps came closer he saw that they belonged to a man wearing a tuxedo and a top hat.

"Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Mask shouted as he saw her prone form on the ground. "What happened?"

"She was hit by a lightning bolt," Sammy said relieved that one of his sister's allies were here now.

"Come on," Tuxedo Mask said as he picked up the fallen Scout. "Follow me and we'll get her out of here."

"What about the other guy that was helping?" Sammy asked as he stood up beside the masked hero. "He's still back there."

Tuxedo Mask looked down at Sailor Moon and then to the tunnel that Sammy had brought her from. "We have get Sailor Moon and you to safety first. Then I'll go back to help him."

Tuxedo Mask then led Sammy toward the portal to take them back to Tokyo while carrying Sailor Moon in his arms. They had only gone a couple of yards before they came across the other Sailor Scouts heading their way after finishing up with the youmas that had been guarding the portal.

"Sailor Moon!" Sailor Mars said as Tuxedo Mask came into view carrying her unconscious leader.

"We've got to get her out of here," Tuxedo Mask said as he continued toward the portal. "And someone might want to go and check on the newbie, too. I didn't get as far as the throne room when I went to go find Sailor Moon."

"Just get Sailor Moon out of here. And Sammy, too," Sailor Jupiter said. "We'll go help The Crescent Moon Knight." The other scouts all nodded in agreement as they all raced to go help the other man that had been left to fight alone for far too long already.

Meanwhile Tuxedo Mask and Sammy finally reached the portal that would lead them to the docks back in Tokyo. Sammy followed the masked man through the strange doorway only to find himself on a pier. When he saw Tuxedo Mask put his sister on ground to check out her injuries he went over see just how bad his sister had gotten hurt while trying to save him.

"Is she going to be alright?" Sammy asked while kneeling beside the man that had carried his sister to safety.

"She'll need to get those burns taken care of," Tuxedo Mask said as he looked up and noticed the way that Sammy was holding his own hands. "You were burned too?"

"Yeh, when the force field was taken down," Sammy said. "Shouldn't we get Serena to the hospital?"

"Serena?" Tuxedo Masked repeated. "How do you...?"

"The woman that looked like her had fun telling me that my sister was Sailor Moon," Sammy said as he slightly shivered at the memory of the woman that had radiated shear evil to him. "I can't believe that I never noticed it before."

"You weren't supposed notice it," Tuxedo Mask said. "The magic helps to distort one's perception of the Scouts."

Sammy cocked his head as he focused on the man, "You are Serena's ex, aren't you?"

Darien winced slightly at the reference but nodded. "Sammy, I don't know how everything will end up working out but you're going to have to promise to keep what you know about your sister and anyone else a secret for now. Can you do that?"

"Sure," Sammy said with a nod. He was about to say something else but was interrupted by the portal opening back up. Sammy then watched as the four other Scouts and the blond man that Sammy had the sneaky suspicion must me Serena's fiancé came into view.

As each of the warriors stepped through the portal their attention was drawn to their wounded leader. Kyle and Ami were ahead of the others as they raced to where Tuxedo Mask and Sammy were kneeling next to Sailor Moon.

"How is she?" Kyle as The Crescent Moon Knight asked as he lowered himself to the ground.

"Not good," Tuxedo Mask said before looking up at the other man and narrowed his eyes at him. "How did this happen? It was your job to protect her until the rest of us got in there."

Kyle's eyes darted to the other man's face as he heard that accusation in Tuxedo Mask's voice. "It happened too fast to stop it. I was still holding the crystal and several feet away from her when the alarm going off to alert them of YOUR presence spooked the Shadows." Kyle's eyes narrowed then caught Sammy in the corner of his eyes. He could see the guilt over his sister's injuries written all over his face. "We can talk about it later."

"You can bet that we will," Tuxedo Mask said nearly growling.

"It was because of me," Sammy said as he continued to look down at his sister. "The blast was meant for me. Serena knocked me down and was hit instead."

The Scouts all looked at the teen, only the men were unfazed by the fact that he knew of Serena's true identity. Sailor Venus walked over and put an arm around Sailor Moon's brother, "Come on. We need to get you looked after. Then we'll call your parents. I'm sure that they are going out of their minds right now."

"What about Serena?" Sammy asked as he saw his sister's eyes begin to flutter. "Serena?"

As Serena began to wake up she whimpered at the pain that she felt in her back and legs. "Ow."

"Careful," Kyle said as placed a hand on hers as she began to turn onto her side to take the pressure off of her burns.

"Sammy? Where is he?" Serena asked after she bit back a wince.

"Right here, ya Meatball Head," Sammy said from his place between Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Venus.

Serena sat up and turned toward her brother. "I was so worried about you!" Serena said as she leaned in to give her brother a hug. She then remembered his hands and pulled back and grabbed Sammy's wrists so that she could get a good look at them. "It looks like Shadow Jupiter got you pretty good. We need to get you to the hospital…"

"Look who's talking," Sammy snickered a bit. "You look a bit charbroiled yourself."

"Yeh, well, I'm feeling a bit well done at that," Serena said as she put a hand to her head.

"Guys, I think we should get out of here," Sailor Mercury said, "We don't know if the Shadows are planning to follow us back."

The Scouts all agreed. Sailor Venus promised to take Sammy to the hospital to get his hands taken care of and make sure that he was safe for the night. Meanwhile Serena was taken to the hotel where Ami bandaged her wounds; well practiced in having to help patch up the others after a fight. After all, they've never been able to really seek professional help since they couldn't very well explain how they'd been hurt. Fortunately, they all knew that the crystal helped Serena to heal much faster than normal.

/

Ikuko wrung her hands as she sat on the couch and waited for word on her son. She had already sent Mika home hours ago and had said that she'd call her son's friend the moment that she knew anything. Now she and Kenji were left alone in a quiet house as night fell outside with no clue where either of their children were. There was no telling where the woman that looked like Sailor Moon had taken their son and they have still yet to be able to get a hold of Serena. That worried Ikuko almost as much as knowing what had happened to Sammy.

When the phone rang Ikuko and Kenji were both roused from their inner turmoil. Kenji grabbed up the phone while his wife leaned in to try to listen. "Yes, I'm Mr. Tsukino…he is? Is he alright?...Yes, we'll be right there…Thank you."

"Kenji?" Ikuko asked as he hung up the phone.

"Sammy was just brought into the hospital. Let's go," Kenji said as he started for the door.

"The hospital! He's hurt? How did he get there?"

"The nurse said something about burns on his hands but she didn't say how he got there."

"Burns! My poor baby!" Ikuko said as she followed in behind her husband out to the family car.

Once at the hospital they were taken to a small room where a nurse was finishing up with bandaging Sammy's hands. The nurse then left the teen alone with the parents as he began to tell them how his hands had gotten burned in the first place.

"What I don't get is this; why would this Shadow Moon take you out of all people?" Kenji asked.

"From what I could tell," Sammy started knowing that he couldn't tell his parents the truth just yet, if ever. "She had been following Sailor Moon and when she came to see Mika, Shadow Moon thought that we must all know one another. And since Sailor Moon isn't known to have any family this evil woman must have figured that she could get her to come for me instead."

"Well I'm just glad that you are okay," Ikuko said as she hugged her son to her.

"Mom," Sammy said in protest as his mother squeezed him tight. "Can you let go? I can't breathe."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ikuko said just a bit flustered. "I'd better call Mika and let her know that you're safe. She was so worried about you."

"Is she alright? She wasn't hurt was she?" Sammy asked since he really didn't know what all happened over at her house after Shadow Moon had knocked him unconscious when she'd busted through the door.

"No, just shaken. I'll be right back," Ikuko left out of the room to find a phone to call the girl.

"Meanwhile, let's get you ready to head back home," Kenji said while taking in his son's injuries. It was clear that he'd have a time doing everyday things until his hands were healed up.


	47. To get out of the house

In the days that followed Sammy nearly went out of his mind with the fact that his parents wouldn't let him out of the house; fearing that he'd be taken by the Shadows once more if they let him out of their sight. Add that to the fact that his mother was driving him nuts over the fact that his hands were burned and it made for an all-around miserable time. Here he was stuck at home and he couldn't even play any of his video games since he couldn't use the controller. To make things even worse, he still hadn't gotten to talk to Serena without his parents nearby. That meant he couldn't ask his sister anything about her being Sailor Moon or to check to see if she was alright after getting hurt while rescuing him.

Sammy did get to find out what Serena and Kyle's cover story was. Kyle told Ikuko that he and Serena had gone to the beach and had left their cell phones behind at the hotel which had been the reason why no one could get ahold of them when Sammy had been kidnapped. Kyle had also told Serena's mother that Serena had gotten burned on the beach and had come close to getting sun poison so she'd be in bed for a couple of days. Sammy figured that was a good of a cover as any, still, he'd like to talk to Serena. He had caught sight of her friends a few times around the neighborhood which let Sammy know that they were still worried that the Shadows may come back for him, too. Not a thought that he relished.

Sammy had to figure out a way to be allowed to get out of the house. He was going stir crazy. Even when he'd go to his room his mother kept checking in on him. This meant that he didn't even have any privacy in his own room. In a way he envied Serena being able to hide out at the hotel right now, away from their watchful eyes. But then again, how many times had she been hurt like this in the past and none of them never even noticed?

/

On Saturday, Kyle drove toward Serena's parents' house with the hopes of being able to talk to Sammy in private. He knew that Serena and her brother needed to talk but so far their parents had not allowed Sammy out of their sight since he'd been returned from the Negaverse. He hoped that he and Serena could convince his future in-laws to allow Sammy out of the house soon. He knew that Sammy had to have a lot of questions that only Serena can answer for him and he can only ask those questions out of range of Kenji and Ikuko. Glancing over at Serena, he was surprised that she was up to going over to see her folks. The burns were nearly healed up (which surprised Kyle at just how quickly Serena could heal up from such terrible wounds) but she was incredibly drained from drawing on the crystal's power to help her do so.

When the couple arrived at the house both could see that Sammy, too, was surprised at just how well his sister had healed up since the last time he'd seen her. He had so many questions that it was torture to not be able to ask them of his sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law. Finally, Sammy decided that this just might be the time that he could send his mother out of the house so he could be alone with the other two.

"Mom, what am I supposed to eat for lunch?" Sammy said while putting the most pathetic look on his face. "Weren't you planning on going to the grocery store sometime?"

"Oh! I totally forgot about going shopping this week." Ikuko said as she tried to find if she still had enough lunch food for just one more day. "We'll just have to go out and try to grab something real quick."

"Can't I stay home?" Sammy asked since he didn't feel like tagging along with his mother like he was still a child.

"I don't know..."

"We can stay with him, Mom," Serena said from her place on the couch. "We'll make sure that no monsters come and whisk him away again." Serena grinned since she knew that her mother would only think that she was teasing her brother. In reality, the statement was more true than the other woman could possibly imagine.

"Serena! That's nothing to joke about!" Ikuko said just as her daughter had predicted. "While you were lying on the beach your brother could have been killed."

"I know Mom, I'm sorry. How about you let Sammy come to the hotel while you go shopping? I'm sure that he could use a day out of the house after being cooped up all week," Serena said as her brother looked on expectantly.

"I really don't like the idea of letting him go out right now..." Ikuko said while thinking over her options.

"I promise we'll go straight to the hotel, no other stops," Kyle added to help convince Sammy and Serena's mother to let her youngest out of the house after his most recent excursion.

"I suppose...I'll go ahead and take care of all of my other errands while I'm out too, if you don't mind," Ikuko said finally.

"Take your time, maybe we can even pick Sammy's brain about some things he'd like to see if he went on a ski weekend next season," Kyle said as stood up and let the brother and sister duo out toward the door before the woman changed her mind. "We'll see you in a few hours."

The three then headed out to the car where Sammy was quick to start with the torrent of questions that he'd had running through his mind since the night of the attack and learning that his sister was Sailor Moon, Champion of Justice. Serena did the best that she could with answering his questions, starting with the her first night of becoming the heroine.

"WHOA! Hold up! Luna, that dopey looking cat that you talked Mom and Dad into letting you keep even though I begged them not to can TALK?" Sammy asked since when Luna had first come to live at the Tsukino home he was still terrified of cats. He'd been bitten on the nose by one when he was younger and he just couldn't believe that his parents were so willing to let Serena keep a cat after that incident.

Serena giggled, "You better not let her hear you talk about her like that. She'll take her claws to you for sure."

"What about Mina's cat? Can he talk too?" Sammy asked as he tried to wrap his mind around the idea of talking animals.

"Uh-huh. And so can Brutus," Serena said with a nod of her head as she turned in her seat to see her brother's reaction.

"Wow!" Sammy said as he stopped to think about all of the things that the animals had probably seen over the years. Some of it incriminating. "So not only are you and your friends the Sailor Scouts but you have talking cats and a talking dog too? That's really cool."

"Not always cool, Sammy," Serena said as she shook her head. "Luna's a bit bossy, always has been. Both about training and school work. At times it was like having two mothers on my case about everything."

"Ooh, not good," Sammy said as he got the image of having another mother telling him to clean his room and to do his homework. "You know, I always wondered where you'd go off to after everyone would go to bed. I KNEW it wasn't some last minute study group with your friends or something. Plus the mornings afterwards, I think someone could have stuck a stick of dynamite under your pillow and it wouldn't have woke you up."

"HEY! You try going out and fight nearly all night only to have to get up and go to school the next day!" Serena said with scrunched face. "The only thing I've seen YOU do all night long is play your video games."

"You sound jealous," Sammy said teasingly.

"You bet I am!" Serena joked back. She then continued to tell her brother about everything that had led up to her learning about the Silver Millennium and being the Moon Princess. Sammy had a few crass comments about Serena being a Princess but held his tongue for the moment since he wanted to hear the rest of what his sister had to say first.

Sammy listened as Serena told him of some of the battles that she'd been a part of as well as the enemies that she's faced. His mind then drifted to some of what he'd read in Serena's interview with the reporter that had written up an article about her. He remembered how she had told the reporter that she had gotten to the point of just not caring what might would happen to her any longer when she had left home.

Here Serena had far more on her plate than Sammy had ever imagined and he KNEW that he'd not exactly made life easy for her. After all, if there was one thing that he excelled at it was being the obnoxious little brother. Like the time he'd rigged the bathroom scale to read over three hundred pounds when Serena went to weigh herself. Or the time that he'd started the rumor that she was an illegal immigrant from Sweden to explain her poor grades. After all, no one would expect someone who barely spoke Japanese to do well in school would they? He still couldn't believe that some of Serena's classmates believed him.

"Uh, Serena…" Sammy started without really knowing where to start but knew that he needed to do this before he chickened out. "About everything that I used to do, you know the pranks and all… I never meant anything by them. They were just for fun."

"I know. You were just being the annoying little brother that you were supposed to be," Serena said with a grin. "I like to think of you as my first real challenge that I faced. Aren't ya glad that I couldn't vanquish ya?"

Kyle bit back a chuckle as the siblings continued their discussion back and forth. As they continued to talk as he drove he briefly wondered if there was anything that he'd done to his own sister that he might want to apologize for. Maybe not. Sometimes a little brother is allowed to be a little annoying. Kyle listened as Serena assured her brother that she didn't hold anything against him; even his lowered opinion of her in the past. Sammy had asked Serena to forgive him anyway which was good to see. Kyle hoped that this would be the start of Serena's family making amends with her. He knew how much they meant to her, even during times that she couldn't bring herself to live with them anymore.

When the three got to the hotel, Sammy was officially introduced to Brutus the Guardian rather than the pet. When Sammy heard Brutus speak he had to make a crack. "Hey! It's Mufasa!"

Brutus snarled slightly, "Mufasa was a CAT!"

"Ooh, a bit touchy isn't he?" Sammy said with a snicker.

"If you were a dog do you think that you'd want to be compared to a cat? Even if that cat was a big cat?" Kyle said with chuckle. "Don't pay him any mind though. I think he's in pain today and still refusing to take his medications."

"So that's why he looks like something that the cat drug in," Sammy said while laughing at his own lame joke.

"I wouldn't do that, Sam," Kyle said. "For now, I think Brutus and I will go for a walk so you and your sister can talk some more. What do you say, Brutus? You ready to get out of this hotel for a while?"


	48. I Knight Thee

Brutus sat in the corner and did his best to play the role of the pet while Serena's family were all over at the hotel for dinner tonight. A role that up until the night he'd received his memories of the Silver Millennium along with his ability to speak really had been his. While watching the family interact together he couldn't help but wonder if the couple's way of handling Serena's mother about the whole wedding issue was very wise. It seemed that the longer they tried to hold her at bay the longer the added stress of trying to dodge the question would shadow over what was supposed to be a happy time. He then thought about how the two had seemed to do a reversal on the subject once they both came to Tokyo that first time together.

Before the two learned of the Shadows, before Serena had to once again become Sailor Moon and everything else that had followed, the two couldn't wait to get married. Now they seemed to be going out of their way to tell everyone that they were in no rush to get married. When Brutus and Kyle went out to the park he guessed that it showed that he had something on his mind.

"I was just thinking, what with the way you and Serena have put planning your wedding on hold…"

"What about it?" Kyle asked after making sure that no one was near them in the park.

"Well, it just seems that if it's because of the Shadows then you're giving them one extra win. Letting them run your lives like that," Brutus said with what looked like a shrug. "It's just that with all of the dangers that come with fighting evil like that, you don't really know what the future can hold for you. Or how much time you really have."

"Well aren't you a ray of sunshine," Kyle said with a soured look on his face.

"Hey, you asked me what I was thinking so I told you," Brutus said while walking ahead. "Next time don't ask unless you really want to hear it."

Later that night Kyle couldn't sleep, Brutus's words replaying themselves in his head. Maybe there was some truth to them. After all, it was clear that Shadow Moon was out for blood. Not to mention weren't the two of them the same age as they were when they had died on the Moon? Queen Serenity had sent the others one thousand years into the future to be reincarnated so they would be in this time period when Queen Beryl was release at the end of her one thousand year imprisonment. But he knew that he'd had at least one other life since the Silver Millennium. The fortune teller had told him as much when he and Serena had been at the carnival before coming back to Tokyo. Part of him wondered why he'd not been sent straight to this time along with the others but a greater part of him wondered just what the life before this one had been. He only had a few details about that one but something told him that when he fully learned of that life-time that he would find that it had been a very interesting one. Kyle also was curious about whether or not that life could affect this one just as his life on the moon was now playing a role in the here and now.

Over the next several nights Kyle's dreams were plagued by visions that he couldn't quite place. There were palaces, sword fights, knights, even a magician. He couldn't quite shake the dreams that, on many levels, resembled the ones that had accompanied his memories of the Moon Kingdom but were very different at the same time. In these dreams he was obviously on Earth, not the Moon.

/

He stood for the first time before the father that he never knew. Here he was now a grown man standing in the woods unable to think of what he should say. After all, what does a bastard child say to a man that had never been there while he grew up? Thanks to this man he was never accepted by the rest of those around him as he grew from a babe to a man. It was this man that he vowed that he would become the exact opposite of as he aged. He had instead pledged his life to be everything that his father was not. However, now faced to face with the older man, he could not bring himself to express any of the anger that had plagued him when he was younger.

"Why are you here?" He finally asked his father.

"I've decided that it is time to introduce you to Arthur," Was the reply. "As my son."

"Arthur? As in the King of Camelot?"

"Yes, and when I introduce you, I'll introduce you as not only my son but as a knight as well," Lancelot said as he then knighted his son.

/

Serena smiled to herself as she finished up her assignment for the day. That meant that she could head out and go shopping with Mina without feeling guilty about it. It was good to get together with the other Scouts when they were not training or fighting against the Shadows. Still, a part of her wished that they would go ahead and make their next move. While it was good to get things settled with her friends and family here in Tokyo she missed the home that she had tucked away in the mountains. The fact that Shadow Moon had waited this long before striking again after Sammy's rescue was beginning to seriously make her nervous.

"I can't believe it, she's actually giving us the crystal."

Serena thought back to Shadow Mercury's surprise when she scanned the Moon Crystal and realized that it was the real thing. It was as if they hadn't expected Serena to actually bring the real one with her to try to get her brother back. If that was the case, if the Shadows hadn't really planned to take the crystal, just why had Shadow Moon stolen her brother away?

"Serena!" Mina shouted to get her friend's attention as she approached her in front of their favorite store. "You look a bit out of it. Is everything alright?"

"Huh? Oh yeh, fine," Serena said. "Mina, have you thought much about the last battle with the Shadow Scouts?"

"Are you kidding?" Mina said with a soft voice since they were in public. "I don't think any of us have thought of much else since then. Why do you ask?"

"I was just thinking… When I put the crystal down the Shadows all acted surprised that I did," Serena said with a bite of her lip.

"Well, it wouldn't dawn on them to do the same thing to save someone that they care about. If they even care about anyone at all that is," Mina said after she thought about what Serena said.

"But it just doesn't make any sense. To demand for me to give them the crystal but not really prepare for if I actually did it," Serena pointed out. "So what was the point?"

Mina tried to think back to the night of the attack. "You know, it does seem a bit odd that they pulled back after you and Sammy were out of the Negaverse. Even Kyle thought that it was a bit strange that the Shadows didn't follow us back into the tunnel after we went to help him. Once we all got out of the throne room it was clear sailing back to the portal. Why do you suppose that was?"

"Well," Serena furled her brow at the image of the Shadows giving up too easy on their own turf. "Now that I really get a chance to think about it…It almost seems like they were giving us a test."

"A test?" Mina cocked her head. "Why? They know what our powers are. They've been fighting us for months."

"Not all of us," Serena said. "Kyle and I weren't here for most of that time."

"But the Shadows know what your powers are. They shouldn't have had to go through such an elaborate scheme just to test you."

"Who said that the test was for me?" Serena asked. "After that attack they know that Kyle can go undetected, even by Shadow Mercury's computer."

"You're right," Mina said with a nod. "Now they'll be prepared for that."

"Which means that we'll need to be ready for their next attack," Serena said clearly worried about her fiancé's role in the Shadow's plans.

/

"That actually seems to make sense," Artemis said after Serena told everyone what conclusion she had come to about Sammy's kidnapping. "It only stands to reason that before they made their big move that they know just what everyone is capable of."

"If that wasn't their big move what do you suppose it will be?" Ami asked from where she was sitting.

"Well I think it's now obvious that the Shadows aren't too concerned about keeping civilians out of any battles," Luna declared from her place on the floor beside of Artemis. "This means that you may not always be able to transform when they strike. I think that maybe we should have each of you train as if you have to fight without your powers. To at least make it where if you are ambushed that each of you can hold your own until the others can join you."

"So, you want us to pair off like usual but half of us not transform and spar against another?" Lita asked.

"To start off with," Luna confirmed. "Now let's get to it."

Luna got the young warriors all divided up and prepared to train. Kyle and Serena paired off at first, true they had trained together often but not with Serena as Sailor Moon. As Brutus pointed out, Kyle would more than likely need to be able to defend himself against Shadow Moon. Serena even used her Spiral Heart Moon Rod as a sword as she sparred with Kyle. After all, they had no idea if Shadow Moon had her own evil version of the weapon. The only real challenge that came from the arraignment was that Serena couldn't bring herself to use her full powers against Kyle. She was afraid that she'd hurt Kyle if she used her magic at full strength. For the second half of the training session Kyle suggested that maybe he should train against Prince Darien instead. After all, just because they haven't come across Darien's counterpart it didn't mean that they couldn't. Kyle didn't mention that he doubted that the other man would feel as conflicted as Serena about hurting him. That would give him a true test of strength against magic.

Darien was surprised by the request but was all too happy to oblige the other man. He didn't see himself passing up an opportunity to fight against Kyle. He transformed into his higher self and reluctantly traded his sword for the wooden training replacements that had been brought for the night for the Scouts to all train with. Prince Darien squared off with Kyle, determined to not have a repeat performance of the last time they had used the bokkens. This time he was aware of the fact that Kyle wasn't exactly a novice when it came to training with the blade. Prince Darien brought his sword up and began his mock attack against his ex-girlfriend's fiancé.

Kyle was surprised that Darien seemed to be a bit better of a fighter in his higher form than in his everyday self. Stronger too. Kyle found that this time he didn't have to go easy on the other man. It was a true test of his own strength. Kyle brought up his own bokken to block Darien's strike and then returned it with his own blow. The two went back and forth for what seemed like hours, neither gaining the upper hand for long. Finally, Darien's increased endurance that was given to him by his transformation won out. He finally delivered what would have been the killing blow had it been a real battle.

As Kyle got up after the end of the mock battle he said, "I guess this makes us even now. We've each won one."

Darien nodded his acknowledgement and looked around to see whether or not the others were finished for the night. "Next time we'll both have be transformed when we spar. So we can settle this once and for all."

Kyle eyed the other man then nodded, "After the Shadows have been vanquished."

"Deal," Darien said before turning to prepare to leave.

Kyle shook his head as he, too, turned. He went to check on Serena before they packed up the night. He hoped that the day of that next mock battle would come soon. For that meant that the Shadows will no longer be a problem for him and the others.

/

I never felt the kiss of love,

Nor maiden's hand in mine.

More bounteous aspects on me beam,

Me mightier transports move and thrill;

So keep I fair thro' faith and prayer

A virgin heart in work and will.

When down the stormy crescent goes,

A light before me swims,

Between dark stems the forest glows,

I hear a noise of hymns:

Then by some secret shrine I ride;

I hear a voice but none are there;

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Giving credit where credit is due, the above bits of a poem was from Tennyson's Sir Galahad.
> 
> I hope that this helps to link the past life that I alluded to during Kyle's past life regression to the rest of the story. Yes, he was Sir Galahad. The only knight that was deemed worthy enough to complete the quest of the Holy Grail. His virtue and pure heart were at times considered a weakness by other knights which, along with being a bastard child, set him aside and were sources of ridicule by others. While he did travel with other knights at times, his was a lonely life. In the story of Galahad, his virtuousness was a source of strife for him as well as his looks. For he was considered to be the most beautiful knight at the round table. His seeming "Too Perfect" appearance and mannerisms obviously did not help him against his rivals at court.
> 
> This will feature into the story later. Just catching everyone who had yet to make the connection up to speed.


	49. Unfinished Business

Kyle walked toward the temple and debated whether or not this was a good idea. Maybe it'd be better if he went and asked a stranger instead. Either way he needed to know what these dreams were. It had gotten to the point where he never seemed to get a good night's sleep anymore. If it weren't memories of the Moon Kingdom interfering with his sleep it was these other dreams that wouldn't allow him to rest. He hadn't let on to Serena but he was seriously starting to feel the effects of it all. Kyle knew though that the lack of sleep could definately be a liability in an attack.

Kyle had just about convinced himself to leave the Shinto Temple when he heard a familiar voice call to him.

"Kyle? What are you doing here?" Rei asked surprised to see the man here and without Serena or Brutus.

"I think that I need to talk to you," Kyle said while looking around as if checking to make sure that no one else was around.

"What about? Have the Shadows attacked again?"

"No, it's nothing like that. It's just…" Now Kyle felt weird. Here he was trying to say that he wanted help due to a few disturbing DREAMS of all things. "Serena told you about us going to a fortune teller and that's how we first knew about my being on the Moon, right?"

"Yes, so?" Rei asked intrigued by the fact that whatever Kyle was trying to get to was bothering him enough to make him uncomfortable.

"Well, what she didn't tell you was that we were also told of another past life, one that came after the Moon Kingdom," Kyle said as Rei led him into the temple.

"I thought that we were all sent straight to this time by Queen Serenity."

"No, the Scouts and Prince Darien were all sent to this time to fight Beryl. I wasn't part of that plan, remember?" Kyle said while shaking his head. "I was allowed to remain in the normal time line before being reincarnated."

"Alright, so what's the problem then?"

"I think that the more that I learn about one past life the more of the other life keeps haunting me," Kyle explained. "I keep having these weird dreams. I was wondering if you could help me with them."

/

Staring into the flames, Kyle concentrated on what Rei was saying. Eventually he no longer heard her though he was sure that she was still talking. Instead, Kyle could feel himself wrapped in a warm fog of a blanket as the fiery embers put him into a trance. He then watched as another life played out before his eyes.

Kyle saw himself as a young boy, playing with swords much in the same way he had after begging his parents to get him his first sword. But in the vision he saw himself in a training ground rather than the modern bedroom of his youth. Kyle also saw that a nunnery had been his home as a child in his past life. He'd been sent away to be raised by his great-aunt there when his mother and grandfather's trick to trap his father into marriage had not worked.

Upon reaching adulthood, Galahad was reunited with his father Sir Lancelot, who knighted him right after they met. He was then brought to King Arthur's court at Camelot during Pentecost. Without realizing the danger he was putting himself in, Galahad walked over to the Round Table amidst the revelry and took his seat at the Siege Perilous. This place had been kept vacant for the sole man who would accomplish the quest of the Holy Grail; for anyone else sitting there, it had been proven to be immediately fatal.

Sir Galahad survived the event, witnessed by King Arthur and his knights in astonishment. King Arthur then asked the young knight to perform a test which involves pulling a sword from a stone. A sword that had been prophesized that only the Greatest Knight of all Time would be able to remove from the sword. No other knight had ever been able to remove it from the stone, a test that herald back to the test that Arthur himself had to pass before becoming King. This he accomplished with ease and King Arthur swiftly proclaimed Sir Galahad to be the greatest knight in the world. He was promptly invited to join the Order of the Round Table, and after an ethereal vision of the Holy Grail, the quest to find the Holy Grail commenced. As Galahad, he was assigned to travel with both Sir Bors and Sir Perceval. Out of the three that had embarked together to find the Grail, Galahad is the one who actually achieved it. Rendering him the title of The Perfect Knight due to his courage, gentleness, courtesy, and chivalry.

"Kyle?" Rei said as she tried to break the trance that Kyle was in. He'd been sitting like stone for hours, barely blinking the entire time. Only starring into the flames. "Kyle, it's time to snap out of it."

/

"Come on Mom, I was just over at the Arcade." Sammy said as he absently scratched at his burned hands through the dressing on them. "I've been cooped up in the house for nearly two weeks. I just needed a little air."

"You nearly gave me a heart attack when I went upstairs and found you missing!" Ikuko said nearly hysterical after believing that her son had once again been taken by that crazy woman from before. "Do you have any idea what you put me through today? You know that you weren't supposed to leave the house without asking me first."

"If I'd asked, you would have just said no anyway," Sammy grumbled.

"Exactly! You knew that and still left the house!" Ikuko exclaimed.

"Geez, Mom, chill," Sammy said as he headed upstairs and muttered under his breath, "Almost makes me want to go hop on a bus."

That left Ikuko downstairs while staring open-mouthed as her son stomped on up the stairs.

/

"I don't get it. If we are supposed to be reincarnated until we've learned all that we can in life or stuff like that, I'd have thought that being Sir Galahad would have fulfilled any need to grow before reaching the final stage of life," Kyle said as he sent his fingers through his blond hair in aggravation.

"Well, that's not the only reason for reincarnation. Sometimes there is unfinished business that is carried over from one life time to another." Rei replied.

"What kind of unfinished business?" Kyle asked.

"Well, dying thoughts usually carry the strongest charges from past lives into the present one: for the seed of this life is sown by and at the moment of death of a previous one. In most cases, dying thoughts concern unfinished business and unlearned lessons. The universe requires that we all carry everything until the business is finished, the lessons are learned, and the thoughts are played out, desires full-filled."

"Dying thoughts?" Kyle repeated as he thought back to his memories of dying on the Moon.

Kyle reached his post to find that chaos had already erupted in full force. He leapt into battle with a personal goal in mind. To delay the progression of the enemy troops for as long as possible. He had to give Serena time to be evacuated. In no time at all every muscle in his body protested the extended rigorous workout. Both sweat and blood dripped from him as he continued to fight despite various injuries that he'd already sustained since leaving the Prince behind in the shadows of the corridors of leading toward the Royal Chambers. As other guards began to fall off to the side, collapsing either through exhaustion or by the sword of an enemy, Kyle continued to try to fight. But as his comrades decreased in numbers, the enemy only seemed to increase. Finally, he was face with trying to hold off four other swordsmen at one time. He was tired and sore and after the long hours of battle he was no longer a match for fresh opponents.

Kyle was surrounded and in his now weakened state it took very little for the other four men to disarm him. He then found himself being restrained while staring up at one of the remaining men as his head was pulled back by his hair so he could look directly into the eyes of the man that thrust his own sword into the captive.

Kyle's last thought as he realized that he'd been ran through was that he hoped that Serena was no longer on the moon. That she had fled the kingdom with the Prince of her choice; safely heading toward Phobos. Kyle then let out one last breath, with only one word on his lips.

"Serena."

"Yes," Rei confirmed for Kyle as she once again noticed that he seemed to get a hazy look on his face. "Do you have any idea what that might have been?"

"I think so," Kyle said with a nod. "So now what? How do I make the cycle end?"

"Well, assuming that you know what it was that you wanted to do in the previous life, if you full-fill whatever unfinished business that has carried over then at the end of this life you should be able to rest at peace," Rei said while debating on whether or not she should pry into finding out just what the dying thoughts that Kyle seemed to be reminded of were.

"Thanks, maybe now the dreams will lay off for a while," Kyle said as he stood up to leave.

"Yeh, no problem," Rei said as she watched the man leave the temple. Part of her wanted to call Serena to let her know why Kyle had come to the temple but another part of her decided that sorting out through what was haunting him was something that Kyle had to do on his own. That he'd ask for help when he needed it. Just as he had done today.

/

Serena nearly laughed at her brother as he begged her to try to convince their mother that she was hovering over him way too much since the attack and his kidnapping. She hadn't hovered this badly back when Serena had first ran away.

"Come on, Serena! I'm not kidding! She's driving me up the wall!" Sammy nearly wailed into the phone.

"Well, what am I supposed to do?"

"Maybe you could convince her to get out of the house? Come on, if you don't I'm going to go nuts."

"Alright, I'll call Mom and see if she wants to go out tomorrow. 'Kay?" Serena said as she conceded that she wouldn't have wanted to be in Sammy's place right now. Practically a prisoner in his room all because of Shadow Moon.

"Thanks Meatball," Sammy said. "I've got to go. Catch you later."

/

Later on in the day Kyle was sitting at his desk while thinking over what Rei had said about unfinished business and reincarnation. Then he thought about what Brutus had said a few nights ago about him and Serena putting their wedding plans on hold until the Shadows were vanquished.

{"I was just thinking, what with the way you and Serena have put planning your wedding on hold…"

"What about it?" Kyle asked after making sure that no one was near them in the park.

"Well, it just seems that if it's because of the Shadows then you're giving them one extra win. Letting them run your lives like that." Brutus said with what looked like a shrug. "It's just that with all of the dangers that come with fighting evil like that, you don't really know what the future can hold for you. Or how much time you really have."}

Kyle knew that ordinarily he and Serena could comfort themselves with the fact that they were both young and had their whole lives ahead of them and that there was no rush about getting married. But their lives were anything but normal. Kyle knew all too well that just because they were still young that it didn't mean that they had years still left ahead of them. The two of their lives had been cut far too short when Queen Beryl attacked the Moon Kingdom. Of course in that lifetime he'd never had even brought himself to tell Serena just how he truly felt about her. He'd gone to his death with his true emotions a secret from nearly everyone else. Though Prince Darien must have known with the way he'd reacted to him being around the Princess.

Kyle turned in his chair and stared out at the city from the window and couldn't shake the ominous feeling that perhaps he and Serena didn't have all of the time in the world as he'd liked to believe.


	50. Making a Move

Darien drove to work while thinking about the various training sessions that he'd attended since Serena and Kyle had returned to Tokyo. He could reluctantly admit that while she had been with Kyle that Serena had seemed to grow in ways that exceeded his hopes for her over the years. Darien had even witnessed the ease that she and Kyle had slipped into a routine while sparring the other night. They had done so in a way that spoke of the truth that Serena had told him when he had first trained with her after her return to the city. That Kyle had worked with her to help her build up her skills. Thinking back, Darien couldn't understand why he'd never done the same thing when he was concerned about Serena taking her training seriously. He wondered if he had taken the time to do the same thing if what had happened between him and Serena could have worked out differently. As it was, he was now the EX as Serena's brother had pointed out so blatantly.

Still, Darien couldn't help but worry about Serena. Especially since he'd been getting visions of Serena lately. He could hear the voice of the King of the Earth of the future speaking to him while he'd see Serena sitting in a cemetery crying. He had then witnessed the scene change to a battle in which the Scouts were calling for Serena's help but she merely had said that she didn't care anymore. She had then remained unmoved as a monster had struck her down where she stood. Darien had stood by and hadn't been able to move as he watched as the monster killed the woman that he'd cared about for so long. That was when he heard his future self telling him that he was the only one that could prevent this disaster from happening. Darien had woken up in a cold sweat and felt himself panicking. He wished that when his future self sent messages through dreams and visions that he'd be more direct about what he meant and expected him to do.

/

Shadow Moon smiled as she sent the other women on their missions. She had one of her own, as well, but she knew that she'd enjoy her part in today's events much more than her Shadows would. If everything went according to plan she was as good as back in her own dimension. Once there she and her scouts will be able to finally defeat Queen Beryl. They would have not only The Dark Crystal but the Moon Crystal's power as well to through at the woman and her own Moon Crystal. Shadow Moon used her power to disguise herself and headed inside the building in search of her mark.

/

Ikuko hopped on a bus to head toward a small café that she was supposed to meet her daughter at for lunch. It had been the first time since the article about Serena and Kyle's engagement was printed that the two would go out together, just them with no one else tagging along. Kenji had insisted that she read the interview once again and had pointed out various parts of it that were disturbing.

When she first read the magazine she had concentrated on how the family as a whole had looked after the press release. Now with a cooler head she wondered why her daughter had never brought some of the concerns that she had spoken of to her instead. She also noticed that her daughter seemed to already be very close to her future mother-In-law. Doing things together with her that Ikuko had never thought of doing with her daughter. The article made it read that Kyle's mother had supported Serena far more in less than a year's time than Serena's own mother had in a life-time. Ikuko had done the best that she had known to do for her daughter. The strict discipline approach had always been recommended for children that slacked off as her daughter had appeared to do. How was she supposed to know about learning disorders? Not even any of the teachers had picked up on that aspect of Serena's schooling.

Ikuko had slipped the magazine into her purse so that she could discuss the article with her daughter for the first time in the weeks after it was release into print. A long overdue conversation for sure. Getting off of the bus, Ikuko began walking down the quiet street on the hot August day as she wished that she had worn an outfit made of a lighter material. Even the short walk to the café was causing her to sweat.

As she neared the corner Ikuko was stopped by a voice that sounded quite chilling. The last thing that she heard before her world grew from uncomfortably warm to excruciatingly cold was, "Mercury Aqua Magic!"

/

Molly was in the back room of her family's jewelry store checking on the books while they were closed for lunch when she heard the door behind her open. Thinking that it was just her mother coming to check on her Molly turned with a smile on her face prepared to ask the older woman just what she wanted to get for lunch. Instead of her mother, though, Molly saw what looked like Sailor Jupiter. But Lita had never come to the store transformed, especially while it was closed. Nor had the other woman ever looked at her with such contempt.

/

Serena looked down at her watch and wondered what was taking her mother so long to come to the café. She'd called her mother's cell phone and had gotten no response. In fact she had gotten the out of service recording from the phone company stating that the customer was out of range for service. Serena had then called home and asked Sammy if their mother had left the house yet. According to him their mother had left with plenty of time to meet with Serena. She just couldn't understand where she could be. Serena stayed at the small outdoor restaurant for over an hour while waiting for her mother before reluctantly giving up. She was due back at the hotel for her lessons soon. Serena told Sammy to call her if he heard from their mother and left a note for her at the check in for the café before heading back to her temporary home. She couldn't put her finger on it but the fact that her mother hadn't shown up when she had said that she would gave Serena a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

/

Kyle was surprised when he was told that Serena was here to see him since it was time for her to have her usual meeting with Mrs. Emerson for their tutoring session. Serena hadn't blown off the teacher for any of her lessons so the visit was a bit unusual for her show up during this time of day on a study day.

"Serena?" Kyle asked as his fiancé closed the door. "Is something wrong?"

"Does something have to be wrong for me to come see you?" Came the reply with sweet smile.

"Well, no. But usually you're with Mrs. Emerson this time of day on Tuesdays," Kyle said as he slid back in his chair to stand up only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"She couldn't make it today so I thought that we could spend some time alone together," Shadow Moon slipped onto Kyle's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "So what do you say, do you want to bust out of here?" Shadow Moon asked with a sultry voice.

Kyle eyed Serena, something didn't feel right. Usually when Serena tried to convince him to take off for the afternoon she used a different approach. Almost always with a carefree attitude. Today... "I can't today. I need to go over these files before I can leave."

"I bet I can change your mind," Shadow Moon said as she leaned in and kissed her counterpart's fiancé very passionately. The moment Kyle's lips came in contact with the woman's he knew why he'd felt that something was off from the time she had walked into the room. This wasn't Serena. Kyle reached out and grabbed Shadow Moon's wrists and pushed her off of him. When he did the woman laughed in his face. "What's wrong? Or have I changed your mind about leaving early for the day after all?"

"Where's Serena?" Kyle asked as he stood, still holding onto the woman's wrists.

"Ah, how sweet. Your first thought is for her even though YOU are the one in danger," Shadow Moon said with an evil grin.

"If you've done something to her you'll be the one in danger," Kyle said as his voice lowered nearly an octave. Before Shadow Moon could respond Kyle's office door opened to reveal his mother coming in through the door.

"Kyle, I was wondering if you've finished with those files..." Lily Garret, a beautiful blond woman that looked at least twenty years less than her age, said as she strolled through the door. "Serena! I didn't know that you were here."

"Yes," Shadow Moon said with a grin. "I came to kidnap your son away from his work but he seems a bit stubborn today. Perhaps we could head off together instead. I'm sure that we have a lot to catch up on."

"It has been too long since we've gone out on one of our excursions, hasn't it?" Lily Garret said. "I suppose I could rearrange my afternoon."

"No, Mom," Kyle said quickly. He couldn't let Shadow Moon out of here with his mother. "Serena and I need to talk. In fact, could you cover for me? We'll go ahead and leave now."

"Of course I can cover," Lily said as she eyed her son. "Have the two of you had a fight?" Lily asked since the couple didn't seem to react the same way they usually did while around one another. Kyle, especially, seemed tense.

"Something like that," Kyle said. "We just need to get out of here so we can settle things." Kyle then started toward the door with a firm grip still around the imposter's wrist. He heard his mother say something as the two left but Kyle was only concerned with getting Shadow Moon away from his mother. Once they were in the elevator Kyle turned on the woman and demanded, "Alright, now what?"

"I don't have the SLIGHTEST idea what you are talking about," Shadow Moon said as she laughed. "I really did just come to talk."

"Somehow I doubt that," Kyle said with his brows furled. "I'm warning you, don't go near my mother again."

"Or you'll do what?" Shadow Moon said as she flicked her wrist to break the man's hold on her. "Besides, you don't have to worry about YOUR mother right now. But I can't promise that is true for anyone else for the time being. I want that crystal and I am tired of waiting for it. I'll have it by sun down or I will take measures that I'm sure that your girlfriend won't be able to stomach. I'm leaving you to give her that message. The others that each of my Shadows were sent to retrieve weren't that lucky. If you want them back unharmed then I'll expect that Sailor Moon will deliver the crystal at sundown. Back in the throne room. Oh, and don't try that invisible trick again. I know that you'll be there, so you might as well as come so I can keep an eye on you."

With that Shadow Moon vanished just before the elevator doors opened up on the ground floor. Kyle stepped out and looked around with a sigh. It looked like he'd be calling it an early day after all.

/

Serena bade her instructor good-bye and looked at her watch. She sighed and called Sammy to see if their mother had contacted him yet. When she heard that she was still missing Serena frowned in concern. It wasn't like the Matron Tsukino to just disappear. Serena was about to call her father when her communicator sounded off. Serena picked it up and saw that Kyle was calling her via the Scout device.

"Kyle? Is something wrong?"

"I just had a visit from Shadow Moon," Kyle said as he put the car in gear to head back to the hotel.

"Shadow Moon! What did she want? Are you okay?"

"She said that we have until sundown to give her the crystal. She said something about the other Shadows each retrieved someone to hold until we deliver the crystal," Kyle said as he abruptly changed lanes.

"MOM! She never showed up for our lunch today!" Serena shouted. "I'll call the others and we'll all meet at the temple," Serena said upset.

"I'm only about five minutes from the hotel, I'll pick you up on the way." Kyle said since he wanted to see for himself that Serena was alright. He didn't believe Shadow Moon when she'd said that she hadn't tried anything with her yet today. Only seeing her with his own eyes would satisfy him at this point.


	51. On Behalf of the Moon

Queen Serenity pulled herself away from the viewing portal reluctantly. She hated that she could not interfere with the coming events. This was something that had to take place, for the good of the future but she wished that she could go and comfort her daughter. Serenity knew that this was something that had to play out without her nudging the events in the direction that she knew that they'd have to take. She knew that one individual will especially need to grow further than that person thought possible. To let go completely and let fate take over. Even if doing so felt incredibly wrong. Queen Serenity felt a single tear fall across her cheek as she thought of the next few hours and days that were ahead for the young people that she loved with all of her heart. She just hoped that she was not wrong about the fact that the time was indeed right.

/

Molly watched from behind a force field as Shadow Jupiter leaned against the far wall and watched Molly as if she was a caged animal rather than a young woman that was very scared. Molly hadn't expected to come in contact with any of the Shadow Scouts but she had known when she had seen the evil woman that she was not Serena's protective friend. There was no light in her eyes, only darkness. Now Molly was sitting in the electrical cell wondering just what was planned next. Taking any of Serena's friends captive hadn't been something that any of the other enemies have ever done. Those that were not directly involved with the Scouts were usually fairly safe. Oh sure she'd been caught in the midst of various battles but those instances had been by chance. Not since Nephlite had Molly been put in the middle of a battle for the sake of getting Sailor Moon where the enemy wanted her to be.

Molly didn't know how long she'd already been in the electrical cell but the growling in her stomach let her know that it had to already be supper-time. After all, the store had been closed for lunch when she had been stolen away. Molly just hoped that her mother was alright. Although she knew that her mother must have had a shock to find her missing when she returned with their lunch. Molly hoped that she'd be home before her mother really started to get worried.

/

"Ami? Can you tell where they have my mother?" Serena asked as she waited anxiously as her friend used her super computer to search for her missing mother. Serena couldn't help but wonder why she hadn't thought of the Shadows sooner when her mother hadn't shown up for their luncheon.

"Well, I've gotten it narrowed down to three possible locations," Ami said as she worked at her computer.

"Three?" Kyle asked. He briefly wondered if Shadow Moon had returned to take his own mother along with her as she had threatened to do. But then, who would the third person be?

"I'm picking up three separate individuals in the Negaverse that can't be the Shadows. All three of them are in different locations in the Negaverse. Only one of which is in the Throne Room. The other two each have one Shadow and several youmas guarding them. The one in the Throne Room has two Shadows guarding along with several youmas as well."

"Shadow Moon must be one of them in the Throne Room," Kyle said. "She said for Serena to bring the crystal there. And she also demanded that I come uncloaked this time. Going in invisible won't be an option."

"I think that we'd best figure out how we're going to go in there," Darien said with his arms crossed. "It's clear that they planned to separate all of us."

"Darien's right," Luna said. "They know that we won't let those that are held in the other areas remain behind and if you wait until after the fight there may be no time to track them down afterwards."

"So how do we decide who goes where?" Mina asked. "And how do we get in?"

"I've been trying to map out as many of the door ways as I could since Sammy was taken into the Negaverse," Ami said as she pulled up a program that she'd been working on in the timeframe that she had indicated. "There is a door that will lead us to a tunnel that connects these two chambers. Then of course there is the door that was opened the last time that Sailor Moon went to the Throne room, it's still there. Shadow Moon is expecting both Serena and Kyle to go through that doorway. That leaves the rest of us to go to the other door and split up to get whoever are in those chambers out."

"But there are not just one, but two Shadows in the Throne Room," Darien pointed out. "Plus, there are the youmas."

"He's right," Kyle said. "We shouldn't go in with just the two of us."

/

Shadow Venus secured her own prisoner and approached her leader. She had begun to be a bit wary around her in recent weeks. Ever since the Generals had returned with Shadow Mars to their own dimension Shadow Moon had become more determined to get the Moon Crystal, no matter what the cost. Shadow Venus eyed the Dark Scout of the Moon but didn't dare to interrupt her contemplation of the situation. She eyed her mark that she had brought to the Throne Room and wondered why this prisoner had been chosen to be brought here rather than one of the other two that had been brought to the Negaverse. It seemed to her that one of the others that either Shadow Mercury or Shadow Jupiter had brought here would have been a better choice to use against Sailor Moon once she arrives with the Crystal.

Glancing over at the captive Shadow Venus hoped that they'd been right about the fact that Sailor Mercury has been able to scan and locate the various doors into the Dark Kingdom, or what was left of it at least. The other captives had been stored as far from the Throne Room as possible with the sole purpose of splitting up the Sailor Scouts. With the Scouts all split up and the fact that they had several youmas at each point of interest as well was sure to put the odds in the Shadow's favor. Shadow Venus hoped.

/

Sailor Mercury turned to the others and pointed down the tunnel and said, "There should be one Shadow and two youmas in that direction about a thousand yards down. We'll meet you here once we've defeated our own opponents. Mars and I will be back just as soon as we can." The other two Scouts nodded as the Scout of Fire and War headed in the opposite direction with the Scout of Ice and Wisdom.

"Have you been able to get anything more on the person that Shadow Mercury brought here?" Sailor Mars asked as she began to slink along the side of the tunnel that led to the chamber that Shadow Mercury had been traced to.

"No, I still can't get any real clear readings," Sailor Mercury said while shaking her head. "I know that she's up ahead but I can't get a real good reading for her prisoner. Sometimes I can pick up a life sign but other times I can't. It's very strange."

"Well keep an eye out and let me know if anything changes," Sailor Mars said as she tried to sense anything up ahead. Both Rei and Ami warned the other at the same time as Shadow Mercury sent an attack their way with two youmas closely behind her. Rei returned with her own attack and briefly wondered if separating like they had was a wise move as the youmas threw themselves against the two Sailor Scouts in a fury of rage.

/

Molly looked up as she saw that Shadow Jupiter and the monsters that had been circling her enclosure all began to gravitate towards the tunnel on the far end of the chamber that she was in. Molly wondered why for only a few moments before she saw Sailor Venus and Sailor Jupiter come running in while fending off attacks from Shadow Jupiter and the youmas.

Molly watched on as the women that she'd known since middle school both fought off the evil creatures that were attacking them. Molly tried to keep track of which Jupiter was which but when they went head to head against one another Molly was completely lost as to who to pull for. It was only when one of the tentacled youmas began to attack one of the identical warriors that Molly was once again able to tell just who was who.

Meanwhile Venus was holding her own against a monster as well. Eventually Molly had to cover her eyes as the Scout of Love let loose an attack that leveled the monster. She then went back to help the Scout of Protection to battle against the remaining youma and the Shadow Scout that had captured their friend.

/

Sailor Moon walked toward the Throne Room as she stood between the two men who were both there to protect her against whatever Shadow Moon had planned for her once they reached the chamber with the third hostage. Sailor Moon looked ahead and saw the opening to her destination looking grimmer than she remembered from her previous encounters in it. Both men drew their swords and held them at the ready in preparation for the battle that was sure to wait for them at the end of the tunnel.

As the trio reached the cavernous room where Shadow Moon was waiting for them they heard her nearly cackle in laughter. "So I see that not only your Knight in shining armor has come to aid you in your fight but your cast aside Prince has joined us as well," Shadow Moon said from Queen Beryl's abandoned throne. Standing, Shadow Moon continued, "I'm surprised that you came, Prince Darien. You have to know that regardless of what happens in this room your Princess isn't likely to return to you now."

"This has nothing to do with our relationship, Shadow Moon! I'll not allow you to take the crystal!" Prince Darien said boldly despite the fact that Shadow Moon's words had hit close to home.

"Oh you won't, will you?" The Shadow Scout asked as if she found the answer amusing. "What about The Crescent Moon Knight? I suppose that you're here to ensure the safety of the crystal and your Princess as well?"

"I'm here to keep you from succeeding in whatever evil plot that you have in mind. Just the same as the Prince," Kyle said as ground his teeth. Did all of the enemies that the Scouts face feel the need to listen their own voice before a battle?

"Get on with it, Shadow Moon!" Serena demanded as she searched the room for the hostage, eager to see if her mother was alright. Unfortunately there were so many shadows in the room that nearly anything could be hidden in them.

"What? You're not going to tell me that you're going to vanquish me in the name of the moon?" Shadow Moon asked as she made a motion toward the shadows near the tunnel that they had just stepped through only moments before. "Then allow me," Nearly a dozen youmas then stepped out of the shadows, effectively blocking their exit. "I am Shadow Moon! I am the Scout of Turmoil and Vengeance. And behalf of the Moon it is YOU that will be punished for standing in my way!" Shadow Moon declared while mimicking Sailor Moon's usual pre-battle stance.

The three defenders of Light then moved to prepare to fight against the youmas that were closing in on them fast. Twelve youmas against a Princess, a Prince and single Knight; Kyle exchanged a look with Serena briefly before having to refocus on the monsters that were currently assaulting them. Immediately Kyle noticed that the youmas were much stronger than the last time that he'd faced them. He wondered if that meant that they had fed on human energy since his last encounter. And if so, on who's?

/

Mars finished binding Shadow Mercury with an ofuda. Meanwhile Sailor Mercury when over to what looked like an ice sculptor of Serena's mother. Ami immediately began to run tests and tried to get any reading that she could on the woman.

"Is she still alive?" Rei asked concerned for their leader's mother.

"I think so but we'll have to be very careful when we thaw her out," Ami said as she finished her scanning.

"Right, I'd better start then. We don't know if there will be anymore youmas on their way." Sailor Mars then used her fire to slowly melt the ice from around the entrapped woman.


	52. Releasing the Hostages

Molly crouched as far away from the cell's walls as possible. That way Sailor Venus could lower the force field without worrying about hurting the captive. Now free, Molly stood up and eagerly gave her rescuers hugs. "I knew that you guys would find me."

"It's good to know that you have such confidence in us," Sailor Jupiter said with a smile. "Now let's get you out of here."

"Gladly. Where's Sailor Moon and others?" Molly asked as she followed the two Sailor Scouts toward the tunnel which would lead them to the doorway out of the Dark Kingdom.

"They are all fighting in other areas of the Negaverse. You are one of three individuals that the Shadow Scouts have taken hostage. We know that Serena's mother is one, we don't know who the third individual is," Sailor Venus replied worriedly. She knew that each of the other girls had tried to contact their own families as well but they could only get a hold of a few of them. Mina hadn't been able to talk to her own mother before the Scouts all came to the Negaverse. And that worried her.

/

In the Throne Room Shadow Moon and Sailor Moon were facing off, both above the youmas as well as the men that were battling them. A part of Serena wished that she had practiced more with fighting while in flight but there wasn't any time to really dwell on that right now. Instead she concentrated on her opponent, ducking and swooping out of Shadow Moon's range while getting her own blows in while attacking her evil twin.

Down below, Kyle eyed the battle in flight briefly before having to concentrate on the ample opponents offered to him on the ground. He raised his sword and delivered blows to one of the insect-like youmas that were trying to separate the two men as they fought back to back. Each man trying to trust the other to handle the monsters that were behind them.

As Shadow and Sailor Moon continued to battle, the evil warrior of the Moon used any chance that she could to direct her opponent's attention to the out-numbered men. Serena sent Shadow Moon back against the rocky wall with a flying kick and followed through with a punch in the gut. That was when Shadow Moon sent a blast of dark energy at Sailor Moon. The blast took Serena by surprise and caused her to drop suddenly from the force. Both men saw this happen but neither were really in position to rush to her side should she need help. Fortunately, Sailor Moon regained her control of her wings and rushed back toward the Shadow Scout. Still, Kyle had to fight his instinct which would have had him hurrying over to his fiancée.

"You know," Shadow Moon said as she and Sailor Moon battled overhead. "I don't know why you are resisting this so much. You've never wanted to be responsible for that crystal anyway. I'm only giving you the opportunity to be what you've always wanted; the chance to be a normal girl. You hand over that thing and you won't have to worry about any other enemies turning your life upside down," Shadow Moon said in her most convincing tone of voice.

"Just because I've never asked for the Moon Crystal doesn't mean that I'd give it to you!" Sailor Moon said as she sent the other woman backwards toward the rock wall several feet behind her. "I'll never allow the likes of you to have it!"

"You can either hand it over or I'll take it from your cold dead hand. It doesn't matter to me which one it is," Shadow Moon shouted angrily. She then drew more power from her dark crystal and shot it forward to hit her doppelganger.

Down below, Darien and Kyle both watched as Serena was thrown back by the dark energy. Both men wanted to help Sailor Moon but neither had yet to really gain any ground against the youmas that were attacking them. They were still heavily outnumbered. To further distract the Knight of the Moon, Shadow Venus stepped forward out of the Shadows from where she had been hiding from the beginning of the encounter.

"You know, Moon Knight, you've got more to worry about than your fiancée," Shadow Venus snickered. "After all, there's someone else here that could use a little bit of your concern." Shadow Venus then revealed a bound and gagged figure behind her.

Kyle's eyes widened when he saw that his sister Wendy was dangling from Shadow Venus's chain in what had been the shadows just moments before. All around her were more youmas that all seemed way too interested in Kyle's sister. He could see that she was terrified from where he stood. "Wendy!" As Kyle screamed out his older sister's name a youma slashed at him with an appendage, making contact and sending him flying across the floor. Shadow Venus giggled at the blond man's misfortune while Sailor Moon looked down to see what was wrong.

"NO!" Sailor Moon screamed.

/

Meanwhile, Sailor Mars was still trying to carefully thaw out Serena's mother. Finally, Ikuko was free from the ice that had trapped her. Sailor Mercury ran a scan to make sure that the older woman was fine. As she did so, Ikuko began to stir. When she realized just who were staring down at her she was more than just a bit surprised.

"What's going on?" Ikuko asked as she sat up.

"That's going to take some explaining but for right now I think that we should get out of here first," Sailor Mars said. "Do you think that you can stand?"

"I think so…" Ikuko said as she slowly began to rise on wobbly legs.

"We'll help you get out of here," Sailor Mercury said as she moved in closer to the woman to give her some support. "We should hurry."

/

Sailor Moon's shout drew Darien's attention to what was going on behind him and saw that Kyle was getting up from where he'd been slung by one of the youmas. Darien also saw that both Serena and Kyle's attention was now focused on an attractive blond woman that was bound by the Scout of Hate and Jealousy's chain. Darien didn't know who she was but it was obvious that both of his allies did. Darien raised his sword to fend off a blow from a youma that had moved to take advantage of the warrior's distraction.

"You see," Shadow Moon spoke up. "I aim to end this for good tonight. You want everyone to get out of here all safe and sound then hand over the crystal," Shadow Moon said as she once again began to draw onto her dark crystal in preparation of another strike.

"Sailor Moon!" Darien called out in both warning and concern. Kyle looked up from where he was trying to fight his way to his sister just in time to see Sailor Moon draw power from her own crystal.

"If you expect me to just give you the power to destroy all that is good in your world then you don't know me at all!" Sailor Moon said as she began to transform into Princess Serena from her Eternal Sailor Moon form. "But you are right about one thing! This ends tonight!"

Shadow Venus's eyes widened as she watched as her leader foolishly stood her ground as the leader of the Sailor Scouts drew on the power of the Imperium Silver Moon Crystal. Shadow Venus didn't need to be knocked upside the head to know just how this battle would end now. She recalled her Chain of Hate and teleported out of the Throne Room. She had no intention of being handed over to the Generals, or worse, for following blindly behind her leader into an impossible battle.

Once released, Wendy Garret backed away to the wall behind her while trying to escape the attention of the monsters that were all around. Of course she had no idea if she could trust the three that had come in last and were now battling the creatures. Wendy could only hope that if they were fighting these things that they were here to help to get her out of this mess. She removed her gag and watched with frightened eyes as the two blond women with wings faced off overhead and the two men (one blond and the other dark-haired) continued to attack the monsters on the ground-level.

Shadow Moon prepared to hurl the dark energy toward her opponent but changed her mind and instead sent it toward the civilian that was now freed from Shadow Venus's chain. She was angry that her Scout took off; that was something that Shadow Moon would deal with once she had the Moon Crystal in her possession. Kyle saw that his sister was about to be hit by the dark energy so he raced over to her and covered her with his own body. It was then that a white shield with a red cross on it appeared on his left arm, effectively protecting The Crescent Moon Knight from the energy ball that was being hurled in his and his sister's direction. The shield repelled the energy back to its source, hitting Shadow Moon just a split second before the moon crystal's power hit her as well.


	53. Déjà vu

The four Sailor Scouts and the two rescued hostages reached the portal to Tokyo just as a huge quake shook the whole Negaverse. Sailor Mercury immediately took out her super computer and scanned to find the source of the quake only to find that the center of the quake was in the very Throne Room that Sailor Moon and the male protectors were all fighting in.

"We have to hurry! The door ways are beginning to become unstable!" Sailor Mercury said as she and Mars continued to help Serena's mother walk toward their only exit.

"What about the others? We can't leave them here!" Molly asked in concern for her best friend.

"There is a separate door for them to go through," Venus answered. "There's no way for us to get there from here."

All around the six individuals, as they began to file out through the magical gateway, rocks from the ceiling and walls began to crumble. Just as Sailor Jupiter stepped through the door while bringing up the rear the ceiling in the tunnel completely gave way. The Sailor Scouts had gotten the two captives out just in time.

/

Darien watched helplessly as Serena used the power of the crystal, knowing just how dangerous it was for her to do so, with trepidation. With the combined powers of the Dark Crystal and the Imperium Silver Moon Crystal Shadow Moon didn't have a chance. In only a matter of seconds of being surrounded by the light of the crystals' magic Shadow Moon was vanquished and nothing was left behind of her. Princess Serena then reverted back to Sailor Moon and collapsed to the floor none to softly. When the chamber began to shake, the youmas pulled back uncertain of what was going on.

Darien was the first to reach Sailor Moon since Kyle was helping his sister to her feet. She was shaken to the very core (much like the very ground beneath their feet was at the moment) and was unsure of what was going on. Kyle debated on letting his sister know that it was him but he figured that the knowledge would only increase her confusion for now. After all, what could he say? Trick or treat, Sis? No, he'll wait until they were safely out of the Negaverse before deciding just how to handle explaining to his sister what he himself would have thought ludicrous just months ago.

"What's going on? Who are you people?" Wendy asked as the man that had protected her from the blast that the now missing woman had hurled her way now headed over to check on the downed member of their team.

"That's going to take some explaining," Kyle said to his sister as he sheathed his sword and knelt down to see to Sailor Moon. "For now you'll just have to trust me when I say that we're here to get you out of this place."

Wendy eyed both men and the woman that they were examining and nodded her reply. It didn't look as if she had much choice in the matter.

"We've got to get Sailor Moon out of here," Prince Darien said as he looked around toward the shadows and wondered just how far the youmas had gone when they had scattered. He then lifted Sailor Moon up and started for the tunnel that would lead them to the doorway back to Tokyo. "All that energy in this room has made it even more unstable than before. She won't be awake for a while, yet. Using the crystal is dangerous for her and always takes a lot out of her."

"Then we'd better hurry," Kyle said as he first eyed the man that had taken it upon himself to carry his fiancée out of harms way. He then motioned for Wendy to follow the other man while Kyle brought up the rear. "Before those youmas come back."

As the four got to the entrance of the tunnel that would take them to the portal that would lead them home several of the youmas reappeared and made to follow the humans out toward the magical doorway. Kyle glanced to first Sailor Moon whom Prince Darien was carrying and then to his sister. He then glared back at the monsters that were approaching. He knew that while Darien was carrying Sailor Moon he couldn't exactly fight against the youmas and he certainly didn't want his sister in harm's way.

"Go. Get the women to the door!" Kyle said as he drew his sword, raised his shield and cocked his head toward the end of the tunnel.

Prince Darien took a step toward his destination but came up short and raised a brow at his rival and asked, "Aren't you coming?"

"I'll be right behind you. I'll cover the rear and make sure none of these guys get a notion to go sight-seeing in the city. Now GO!" Kyle said as took a step to block the youma that was the most bold and had taken it upon itself to lead the charge against the humans in their realm.

After one quick quizzical glance Darien continued with both of the women to take them to safety. He decided that as soon as they were safe that he'd return for the other man. He hoped that Kyle would be alright until then. He may not like the fact that he and Serena were together but he had to admire the man's tenacity.

Kyle launched himself at the monsters as they tried to get past him to the others in his party. Briefly, Kyle felt the eerie sense of déjà vu as he stood his ground while trusting the other man to take those that he loved to safety. Shaking it off, Kyle renewed the vigor that he drew on to fight against the creatures that were converging on him as the other three made their way to the only means of escape for them.

/

The rest of the Sailor Scouts all slipped through the magical portal just ahead of the cave-in that over-took the tunnel that they had been in to rescue Serena's mother and best friend. Their door way had opened up in a warehouse near the dock that they knew the other doorway would open up to when Sailor Moon and the others returned. Molly assured the Scouts that she would take care of Serena's mother so they could head to that gateway that their comrades had used just in case they needed any re-enforcements. Molly knew that the older woman was shaken and still a bit unsteady on her feet from being encased in ice for the entire afternoon and evening so she doubted that she could move as swiftly as the Scouts needed if they were to help Sailor Moon and the others fight against Shadow Moon.

When the four remaining Scouts all got to the dock they arrived just in time to see Prince Darien carrying Sailor Moon out of the portal just ahead of a blond woman that was a stranger to them. Seeing that Sailor Moon was unconscious all of the young women ran to meet their fallen comrade.

"What happened?" Sailor Venus asked as she knelt beside where Darien laid her on the ground.

"She vanquished Shadow Moon using the Imperium Silver Moon Crystal," Prince Darien said knowing that the simple sentence would tell the women everything that they needed to know. "The Crescent Moon Knight is still in there. He covered us as I got Sailor Moon to safety. We'd better get in there because he was out-numbered and those youmas looked as if they didn't intend to let him leave alive." Darien stood and turned to head back toward the glowing portal. He may not like Kyle but he couldn't exactly leave him behind either. If he did Serena would never forgive him.

"Wait! I'm picking up some very unstable readings from inside the Negaverse," Sailor Mercury said as she examined the readout on her super computer.

"Then we'd better hurry to get The Crescent Moon Knight out," Sailor Jupiter said as she moved to join Darien in his mission to rescue Serena's fiancé out of the Dark Kingdom. She then stepped toward the portal just before a flash of light blasted through the doorway, sending all that were too close back away from it before it sealed shut.

"What happened?" Sailor Mars asked as she looked to Mercury who still had her computer out and running scans.

"The portal collapsed. I can't get a reading at all on the other side anymore." Sailor Mercury said with the tinged of fear in her voice. "We can't go back in." Each of the Scouts and the Prince all exchanged looks with one another. If they couldn't get back in and the tunnel had collapsed then where did that leave Kyle?

All of the Scouts had forgotten all about the woman that had been rescued from the Throne Room until Molly and Ikuko approached. Finally seeing others that didn't seem as strange as the ones that had freed her from her imprisonment Wendy went over to them while eying the group that seemed to be mourning at the same time as they continued to try to awaken the blond woman with wings.

"Finally! Can one of you PLEASE tell me what is going on?" Wendy asked in a pleading tone. "One minute I'm at my desk reading over the plans for an event that's being held this winter and the next I'm in some dark cave all tied up."

"I was hoping that someone could tell me the same thing," Ikuko said as she caught sight of the woman that was on the ground. She was the same one that was responsible for her son being kidnapped and now she'd been taken by the heroine's enemies as well.

Before anyone could answer either of the women Sailor Moon began to stir slightly. When she looked up and saw not only her mother but Molly and Wendy as well, Sailor Moon breathed a sigh of relief as she realized just who all three of the hostages had been. Not only did she know who they were but she also knew that they were all safe and sound.

"Sailor Moon! Thank goodness. We were all so worried," Sailor Venus said as she realized that her leader and friend didn't seem to be hurt, just drained.

"Venus," Sailor Moon accepted the hug that the other blond leaned forward to give her, glad that everything seemed to finally be over. When she looked at the woman's face there was something about it that didn't seem quite right. Sailor Moon then glanced around at all of the others around her, even the three rescued women, and she saw how there seemed to be a cautious look in everyone's face. Like there was something that none of them wanted to tell her. She then noticed that there was one individual that was missing. "Where is he?" Sailor Moon realized that The Crescent Moon Knight was not in the huddle of concerned friends.

Prince Darien looked down on the ground and took a deep breath. "The Crescent Moon Knight decided to cover the rear. He said he'd be right behind us but made sure that none of the youmas followed us here. He didn't make it out before what was left of the Negaverse began to collapse."

Sailor Moon began to look from one of her friends to the others, hoping to see something that would tell her that Darien was wrong. Unfortunately, even the two women that had no clue about what was going on looked at her in pity as they realized that the man that had been left behind had meant a lot to the broken heroine.

"No," Sailor Moon said in a soft whisper. "You're wrong. He's got to be alright. We're suppose to start planning for the wedding as soon as Shadow Moon was defeated. We're supposed to..."

Sailor Mars knelt on the opposite side of Sailor Moon as Venus was sitting on and pulled her in close to her. She didn't know what to say; or even if there was anything to be said at all that would help. She knew that when her mother had died there was nothing that had helped her. But with Kyle, to only know the situation that he'd been left in. Surrounded in the heart of the youmas' lair with no means of escape... Sailor Mars knew that Sailor Moon would be crushed but what she didn't expect was for the Moon Princess to untransformed and revert back to her civilian form right there in front of everyone.

Ikuko watched the transformation in wonderment as right before her eyes Sailor Moon was replaced with her very own daughter. She could feel her jaw drop as the reason for not only her own kidnapping but that of her son's also began to make sense. Her daughter was Tokyo's greatest heroine, Sailor Moon. Then she considered how long it has been since Sailor Moon first appeared in Tokyo. That was how many years ago? That would have made Serena...

At the same time, Wendy recognized the woman before her as her brother's fiancée. As Serena continued to sit crumpled on the ground Wendy thought back to the man that had been left behind in the strange cave that she had just been rescued from. The man that had literally put himself in the path of a blast that could have killed her. Could it be that HE was her brother Kyle? Wendy knelt in front of her soon-to-be sister-in-law and took her hand and looked into Serena's blue eyes with her own brown ones the were nearly identical to her brother's.

"Serena?" Wendy asked while trying to find the words that would ask the other woman to confirm what seemed to be impossible. Just as silent came her answer by way of Serena quivering as she renewed her heart-wrenching sobs.


	54. Sharing Serena's Secrets

Back at the hotel, Serena sat nearly catatonic on the couch as Brutus sat on one side of her and Luna and Artemis sat on the other. It seemed that she ignored anyone who tried to speak with her at all. She just sat staring out of the glass sliding doors towards the cityscape. Lita tried to get her friend to eat a little something since she knew that all of them had skipped supper in their hurry to free the three captives. Molly called her mother and told her that she was fine and gave her an abbreviated explanation of what had happened to her since she had left at lunch earlier in the day. Considering how many times over the years that Molly had been swept up in one evil plot or another by various enemies of Sailor Moon, her mother seemed to accept the explanation fairly easily. Though she did insist that her daughter should come home as soon as possible, wanting to see for herself that Molly was alright.

Meanwhile, after Ikuko called home to tell her husband and son that she was with Serena, Rei and Mina spoke softly to the two women that had been clueless about the secret of the Scouts until this evening. They did their best to answer any and all questions that they had about how and why the young women had been given the mission to become the Sailor Scouts.

When Wendy asked how her own brother had been brought into the equation Mina explained to her about Serena being taken and how Kyle had been granted the ability to transform into The Crescent Moon Knight by the spirit of Queen Serenity. It took both women a while to understand just what all was being told to them. Neither sure if they wanted to truly believe what they were being told. Especially Wendy since she was then forced to come face to face with the possibility that her brother was not only trapped in some other dimension with no way out but just might be dead as well.

Off to the side, Darien watched as half of the girls helped to explain the situation to the other women while the other half watched over Serena. He was uncertain of what he should do, not really knowing what to say to Serena right now. He also felt guilty about leaving Kyle behind, maybe it should have been him that remained behind. He'd just taken it upon himself to carry Serena out even though she could no longer be considered his. Serena had made up her mind and she had chosen to marry Kyle. Is that why he'd made sure that Kyle would be the one that covered the rest of them as they headed to their only way out of the Negaverse? Darien wouldn't blame Serena if she accused him of leaving Kyle behind on purpose.

Watching Serena unresponsive to her friends, Darien was reminded of his strange dreams that he'd been having. He could hear the voice of the King of the Earth of the future speaking to him while he'd see Serena sitting in a cemetery crying. He had then witnessed the scene change to a battle in which the Scouts were calling for Serena's help but she merely had said that she didn't care anymore. She had then remained unmoved as a monster had struck her down where she stood. Darien had stood by and hadn't been able to move as he watched as the monster killed the woman that he'd cared about for so long. That was when he heard his future self telling him that he was the only one that could prevent this disaster from happening.

Why hadn't the King of the Earth just TOLD him what was going to happen. He could have given him some sort of warning instead of just giving him cryptic messages about how he was the only one that could avoid Serena's future death due to her lack of caring. Now since Darien hadn't figured out the message in time he could already see Serena slipping away from all of them. Still, Darien had the nagging feeling that there was something that he was missing. That there was still something that he could do. Seeing that everyone was busy, Darien slipped out to head home. He was just in the way here right now anyway.

"Serena," Ikuko said as she approached her uncharacteristically quiet daughter. "Can I get you anything?" When Serena didn't answer and just continued to silently stare Ikuko sighed and shooed the cats away so that she could sit beside of her daughter. Luna eyed her but hopped down, knowing that now wasn't the time to spring on the woman that she and the other two animals could talk. But so help her, she'll be sure to see to it that she is told soon. Ikuko reached out and pulled her daughter in close to her and held her as Serena sat unmoving. The fact that Serena had completely shut down after leaving the docks worried Ikuko. She hadn't said a word and now she wasn't even crying. When Ikuko had called Kenji she hadn't been really sure what to tell her husband so she had just told him that she was staying with Serena over-night and that she would explain more in the morning.

Serena had been through so much in the last few years and Ikuko hadn't been there for her daughter for any of it. Now that she knew of her daughter's secret life she still didn't know how to be there for her. Ikuko's heart was breaking as she held her daughter. Was there anything that she could really say to her now that would help? Was there anything that she could do?

/

Darien tossed and turned all night, unable to get any restful sleep. Whenever he would drift off he was plagued by memories of the time that Queen Beryl had brainwashed him into serving her. He didn't understand why now after all of this time that he'd be thinking back on that time in his life. Maybe the memories were brought on by going to the Negaverse last night. Darien got up and headed to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face to try to rid his thoughts of how the evil Queen had used her power to turn him against the Scouts. Looking at the clock he realized that he'd not get any more sleep so he changed to go for a run instead to start his day.

Darien was nearly halfway through his morning run when he felt as if he was hit upside the head with just what the dreams all meant. He then raced back to his apartment and made a call. Next, Darien got what he felt that he'd need and headed out on a mission of his own. He hoped that he was right about his conclusions but he figured that he didn't have anything to lose at this point.

/

When Ikuko woke up she checked in on Serena who was lying on the bed hugging a pillow close to her chest. Her eyes were wide open and she was just staring at the wall with a vacant expression on her face.

"Serena, I brought you some breakfast," Ikuko said as she sat on the bed and brushed Serena's hair away from her face. Ikuko had made sure that she had Serena's favorite breakfast but her daughter made no move to see what her mother had brought into the room for her. "Come on Baby, you need to eat."

Brutus hopped up on the bed laid down in front of Serena and whimpered softly to the young woman. He was worried about Serena, just the same as everyone else. The woman that was lying unresponsive on the bed was not the woman that had breezed into both his and Kyle's lives last winter. It hurt to see her like this.

Ikuko sat with her daughter for a while until she heard a knock at the door. Figuring that her husband and son were here she went to the door and found Wendy Garret there instead. A woman that Ikuko knew that she would meet eventually but she had not pictured last night's encounter being just how it would come to pass.

"I couldn't bring myself to go to work," Wendy said after Ikuko answered the door. "I thought I'd come by and see how Serena is doing this morning."

"The same as last night," Ikuko said as she moved aside to let the younger woman into the hotel suite. "What about you?"

"I don't know. It's still just a bit surreal," Wendy said as she moved over to the couch. "To learn everything about Serena being Sailor Moon, Kyle being given magical powers too, then to know that he's trapped in some other dimension and could even be…." Wendy trailed off, not able to say the words.

Ikuko nodded and sat awkwardly beside the sister of the missing and presumed dead man. She then waited for her husband to arrive, suspecting that her son already knew about his sister's secret identity, knowing that her husband needed to be told what all was now going on with their daughter.

All of the times that Ikuko thought that her daughter had been out goofing off with her friends Serena had actually been out saving the world. Add that onto the stress of her schooling and her undiagnosed learning disorder Ikuko shuddered to think of just how much her daughter had endured over the last few years. She knew that she hadn't exactly helped with either stressor that had made up Serena's life since she was only fourteen.

When the door was rapped on once more Ikuko stood and let her husband in. She wasn't exactly sure how but she knew that she needed to be the one to tell her husband of last evening's events. It was one small way that she could take responsibility for some of her actions that had brought heartache to her daughter over the years.

/

Shadow Venus crept down the tunnel and found where Shadow Mercury was lying beneath some fallen debris. She must have been caught in the cave in, Venus figured, after Sailor Moon destroyed Shadow Moon. Removing the fallen rocks, Shadow Venus worked to free her comrade before any of the youmas made their way to this tunnel. She knew that if they found the downed fellow Shadow they would drain her of all of her energy for sure. Shadow Venus wasn't sure what she and the others would do now that their leader had been vanquished but she did know that whatever they decided to do they would be stronger together. She'd already located Shadow Jupiter and she was in a hidden alcove waiting for Venus to return with the last remaining member of their small group.

Once the trio were all together they could then decide how to proceed from here. She doubted that either of the other two would want to return to their own dimension only to face Queen Beryl on charges of treason. Nor did she know if they believed that they should continue the mission that they had all come here for in the first place. If they did then Shadow Venus knew that they would have to alter their tactics greatly. The way that both Shadow Moon and Mars had attempted had gotten them no where. Venus heaved a sigh as she cleared the last bit of debris and began to wake the unconscious warrior. The rest would have to wait for now.

/

Kenji glanced back and forth between his wife and his son then studied the other woman in the room with his family and waited for someone to tell him that what he'd just heard his wife tell him was some sort of a joke. His daughter was not Sailor Moon, right? Unfortunately no one made a move to indicate that some strange joke wasn't being played on him. Ikuko told him of her kidnapping and how she herself learned of Serena's secret identity after she'd been told that Kyle, Serena's fiancé, had not escaped with the rest of them after the battle that had rendered their daughter unconscious. Ikuko then told Kenji of how Serena had shut down after being brought back to the hotel.

Sammy, for the most part, remained silent and let his parents carry the conversation, glad that for now he had escaped any questions about just how and when he learned for himself that his sister was his long-time hero. He knew that once the shock of everything wore off the questions were bound to come later. Instead Sammy glanced toward the room wondering if he should go back there to talk to his grieving sister. Apparently he wasn't the only one that was thinking along those lines since Wendy stood and said that she was going in to check on Serena.

"I'm sure that if she needed anything Brutus or Luna would come and tell us," Sammy said absently.

"I'm sure that they would but since they can't exactly tell us what Serena would need I think that it be best to go on in anyway. Besides, just sitting here is starting to get on my nerves," Wendy said as she smoothed her dress out.

"You mean that they didn't tell you about the three animals?" Sammy asked since he was sure that his sister's friends would have explained that part to his mother and Kyle's sister when they were explaining everything else to them last night.

"What about the animals?" Ikuko asked not sure if she could take anymore revelations just now.

"UH…" Sammy looked around to see if one of the afore mentioned animals were in the room with him, perhaps to explain for him just what he meant. Unfortunately for Sammy, it looked as if he'd be the one to tell his parents and Kyle's sister that the two cats and the German Shepherd could all talk.


	55. Shell-Shocked

Luna jumped up on the balcony and waited for someone to open the sliding doors so that she could go into Serena's hotel room. She could see that Serena's family was all here now, including Kyle's sister as well. She did notice that the adults all turned toward her direction as she stared through the glass door. After a few moments Sammy came to the door to allow her inside the suite.

"Hey Luna, what's shakin'?" Sammy said as he opened the sliding glass door. "I was just talking about you," Luna cocked her head up at the teen so he added, "They know."

"I see," Luna said as she made her way into the sitting room. "I suppose that it's just as well. They were going to have to find out sooner or later."

"She can really talk," Kenji said in amazement as he watched his son converse with the housecat that had been a part of the family for four years.

"How's Serena?" Luna asked since that was the purpose for coming to the hotel.

"I haven't gone in to see her yet," Sammy said with a shrug before turning toward his mother, "Mom?"

"Uh..." Ikuko started with a slight stutter since she wasn't used to addressing the CAT of all things. "I think that she's still in a state of shock. She hasn't left the bedroom since last night."

Luna nodded, she'd expected as much. She had reacted in a similar way at first when Darien had been taken by Queen Beryl. She had remained depressed for much of the time that the man had been taken after she had first learned of their past together. And that had been before the two of them had really developed a real romantic relationship in this life-time. This time Serena had been in love with the man long before his disappearance. One good thing was that Shadow Moon had been vanquished which meant that they had a little time to allow her to adjust to the new situation. Whereas last time they had been in the middle of an all out war with the evil queen so Serena had been forced to fight despite the fact that she was depressed. Luna hoped that the remaining Shadows will need time to gather themselves together after their loss since she knew that Serena would definitely need time of her own.

"She'll be okay won't she?" Wendy asked as she looked toward the bedroom.

"I hope so," Luna replied, "I certainly hope so."

/

Serena's fingers absently went through the German Shepard's fur as she stared at the wall. She wanted to believe that Kyle was alright but given the situation that he'd been in when the door collapsed and the fact that Ami couldn't detect any life forms from the Negaverse, Serena found it hard to hold on to any real hope for him. While lying on the bed Serena thought back to the battle with Shadow Moon and wondered if there was anything that she could have done differently. Could she have defeated her opponent without having to use the crystal? She knew that doing so had always taken a toll on her energy. If she had been able to fight without using the gem then she might have been able to help with their exit so that Kyle wouldn't have felt the need to allow the rest of them to go on ahead without him.

Thinking further on what she'd been told, Serena began to wonder why it had been Darien that had carried her out of the Dark Kingdom instead of Kyle. That was probably going to be one of the first things that she was bound to ask her ex the next time that she saw him. For now, though, all she wanted to do was go back to sleep and wake up to learn that everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours had just been part of a nightmare.

Beside Serena, Brutus watched as the woman remained unmoving. He waited and watched for any sign that the young woman planned to go into the next room. He, too, was worried about the man that he had spent the last three years with. Brutus knew that Kyle was a skilled swordsman. Brutus also knew that no matter how good of a swordsman one was, no one could last long when the odds were greatly against their favor. From what he'd heard, Kyle's skills would have been tested beyond their limits by the sheer number of the youmas that had been in the tunnel when the portal had collapsed. Brutus nuzzled in closer to Serena slightly. In his heart of hearts he hoped that he and Serena hadn't lost Kyle to the collapse of the Negaverse but he, too, had a hard time in believing anything else.

/

Later in the day, Ami was visiting her mother at the hospital since she was working a double shift. After seeing the Shadows take Serena's mother and Kyle's sister yesterday Ami was reminded of just how much danger her own mother was in without even knowing it. With what had happened to the other's family lately and the fact that Serena's family now knew that she was Sailor Moon, Ami was now beginning to wonder if it would be wise to go ahead and tell the rest of the Scouts' families as well. If they all did decide to inform their families of their secret lives Ami wondered how her mother would take the news. Ami knew that her mother was more likely to not believe the news since she was a very logical person. And to the logical person magic just didn't make much sense. After all, if Ami didn't actually live the life that she did she would never believe that anything like the Sailor Scouts and the various evils that they had fought against over the years could ever exist.

Sighing, Ami left her mother with the knowledge that she was safe and sound. She then started to wonder how Darien was doing after yesterday's battle. He'd slipped out last night without speaking to anyone. Ami headed off to where she knew that Darien worked at and was surprised to hear that Darien had called into work, stating that he'd be out for a while. That worried Ami so she then headed over to his apartment only to find that the man wasn't there either. That really confused her since she couldn't understand why the Scouts' long-time ally would just disappear as he seems to have done now. Briefly, Ami wondered if the three remaining Shadows had attacked Darien but instantly dismissed the thought. After all, if they had they wouldn't have waited for Darien to call in to work before taking off with him. Still, Ami couldn't help but be concerned for the man.

/

Lily Garret walked into the office and noticed that neither of her children were in yet this morning. The last that she had seen her son, Kyle and his fiancée were in the middle of a tiff. It was the first time that she had seen the two upset with one another. As much as it hurt her to see the two going through the small rough patch she knew that they would be better for it. Lily then thought back to the first few fights that she and her husband had in the early days of their relationship. Not only did she remember the fights but more so she remembered making up afterwards. Smirking, Lily had a sneaky suspicion that her son may not make it in to work at all today.

Her daughter's absence, on the other hand, was a bit of a surprise to her. Lily made an mental note to call Wendy later if she didn't come in. In the mean-time, Lily headed on into her office to read over the plans for the kick off of the ski season for this winter. A whole week had been set aside to promote being a great place for the younger generation to flock to the town that the Garret family had such a huge investment in. There were small bands as well as a few big named bands that were scheduled to play each night for the tourists that planned to vacation that week in town as part of their packaged deals. Some of the bands Lily had never heard of but had been assured that these bands would draw huge numbers of young adults to the town to ski. She had to admit that the idea that Serena had for the resort town looked promising. Already, this early in the summer, the bookings for the season were already rolling in.

Looking up, Lily saw that her next appointment was ready to commence their meeting so she put aside any thoughts of the younger members of the family and got back to business. She would check in with her children later.

/

In the Negaverse the surviving youmas roamed the decrepit passageways in search of a way out that they had yet to stumble upon. One youma broke away from their group and wandered into the area that had once been Queen Beryl's private chambers. He heard a noise as he turned a corner and was surprised to find a human where no one had dared to take up residence after the evil monarch had been destroyed. Even in death, the queen's memory was terrifying enough to make most of the youmas to steer away from her domain as if they were not totally convince that she was dead. Even after all of these years. This particular youma now wished that he, too, would have kept his distance as he was struck down before he fully realized what was about to happen. The human then left the carcass behind and continued through the corridor as he made his way through the Dark Kingdom.

This had been the fourth youma that he had come across as he made his trek in the forbidden territory. He was glad that each had been alone when he'd come across them not to mention that he'd been able to sneak up on most of them as well. He knew that he had to conserve his energy since he had no idea how long it will take before he can return to Earth. Nor would he be able to really rest until after he left this sub-dimension. To do so would be risking his own life.

Making his way through the passages that he had known all too well at one time, the lone figure continued toward the rubbles that remained of the Throne Room. He was not sure of what he would find once he got there, nor was he sure what he wanted to find there but he knew that it was there that he needed to go. As he approached, the man saw a mess of crumbled rocks where a tunnel's mouth once was. Sighing, he started to sort through the debris while keeping an ear out for the approach of anymore monsters.


	56. Crystals and Boulders

Deep in the heart of the Negaverse, the quaking that had shook the whole Dark Kingdom had an unexpected repercussion. Years ago, Queen Beryl had place one of her Generals into a sleep that was meant to be eternal for displeasing her. Now the crystal that had encased him for more than three years had cracked just enough to awaken the fallen warrior. As the pieces of the gem began to crumble the blond General became that much closer to being freed from his crystalline prison. As he began to awaken he vowed to seek vengeance on all of those that had been responsible for his Queen's displeasure in him. From Zoisite to those three pesky little girls that had been a thorn in his side for too long. Then he'd get even with everyone else that had stood in his way while trying to collect energy for the Negaverse.

Finally, he could feel his right hand was completely free from the gem that had been his prison ever since his last appearance in Queen Beryl's Throne Room. Clinching his hand, Jadeite knew that it wouldn't be long now before he'll finally be able to seek his revenge. He only needed to be patient a short while longer.

/

Days later, Serena looked around the hotel room and sighed. Her parents had been trying to convince her to go home with them but doing so seemed so final. As if it was a statement that she accepted that Kyle wasn't coming back. She just wasn't sure if she was ready for that. She understood that her family was only trying to help but Serena wasn't prepared to walk away just yet.

"Serena," Brutus said as he walked up behind the young woman that he felt as if was his charge now just as much as she had been Luna's for the last four years. "I think that it'd be good for you to get out of the room for just a little while." Brutus then added in an attempt to make the woman smile, "Besides, I don't think that the staff downstairs is all that comfortable with seeing me come and go as I please alone. Though I'll admit that I like seeing them do a double take when I call for the elevator on my own."

Serena felt a weak smile threaten her lips as she imagined the Desk Clerk watching Brutus come into the hotel alone and saunter over to the call button of the elevator. "I suppose that you're right. We'll go over to the park for a little while." She then led the canine out of the suite with one last look around. It was amazing how empty the room could feel now that he wasn't here. And it wasn't just the room that felt empty either. Even her heart felt hollow in her chest. It was as if there was a black hole where her heart once was.

/

Jadeite finally shook off the last remnants of the crystal that had finally cracked enough to allow him to escape from his prison of the Eternal Sleep. He felt a little weak after his last internment but he was quick to put as much distance between him and the shards that were now on the ground. Jadeite didn't want to still be around in the event that Queen Beryl or any of her minions came to gawk at him. He knew all too well that those that had endured the Queen's wrath were used for the entertainment and teaching tools of all others in the Kingdom.

Jadeite wandered along the passage ways, sticking to the ones that he knew were rarely used by any of the other Generals, picking his way along the fallen rocks that had once been part of the ceiling. As he slowly made his way through the dank and dark tunnel Jadeite heard the sound of three women up ahead. Carefully, he crept to where he could take a peek at the source of those voices and was surprised to see three women in Sailor outfits. He only recognized one of them as a Sailor Scout that had ruined his plans of collecting energy for Queen Beryl. Sailor Mercury. Jadeite didn't see Sailor Moon or Mars but he knew that if Mercury and these two unknown Sailors were here then the other two must be somewhere nearby. He then began to slip up closer to listen to the women talk amongst themselves.

Shadow Jupiter folded her arms and glared at the blond Shadow. "Now what are we supposed to do? We can't go back home since Beryl and the Generals are all probably just waiting for us. And NOW we are so out-numbered by the Sailor Scouts that we'd have to be stupid to go against them now."

"We'll just have to wait until we're strong enough to make another play for the Moon Crystal. It's our only choice, Jupiter," Shadow Venus said as she sat on a boulder that lined the tunnel.

"Even with the crystal, do you think that we could actually succeed now? Sailor Moon vanquished Shadow Moon. Which means we no longer have an heir to the throne to back in our coo against Queen Beryl and the rest of the Light Kingdom," Shadow Mercury said as she held an injured arm close to herself.

From his place where he was hiding Jadeite furled his brows as he took in what he heard as the three continued to talk together. He then realized that these were not the Sailor Scouts that had been responsible for his entombment. In fact, they seemed to despise the same women that he did. Jadeite figured that he just might be able to handle this. They were wanting to seek their own vengeance against the Sailor Scouts and were in turmoil since they had just lost their leader. Smiling to himself, Jadeite moved to reveal himself to the three women.

/

Prince Darien move yet another large rock as he slowly made his way through the collapsed passageway. The whole time that he'd been stumbling his way through this tunnel over the last couple of days he'd been convinced that an army of youmas would come and try to finish off what they had started with the lone remaining ally when he and the Scouts had all escaped after Shadow Moon had been defeated. That or perhaps the monsters had some strange sense of decency and were returning to collect their own fallen members of their ranks that Darien had come across buried beneath the debris in the caved-in tunnel.

Pausing to take another break, much to the relief of his protesting muscles, Darien took a sip of the waning supply of water that he'd brought with him into the Negaverse. He then thought back to how Serena had looked when he had last seen her. She seemed so lost that night. He couldn't bear to see her like that. The longer he was here in the remnants of the battle that had caused that heartache for the Moon Princess the more Darien wondered if this fool's mission was for naught. Still, he figured that he should keep up his efforts for as long as possible. He had to believe that his dreams and the King telling him that he could prevent the images that he'd seen from coming to pass must mean that Kyle was still alive somehow.

Like it or not, Serena had made her choice and letting the man that had stolen her heart die would not send her back into Darien's arms. If he just sat back and did nothing now he didn't know if he could face himself. One thing that he didn't get, though, was this. If he was being prodded into HELPING to bring about Serena's happiness with a new man then why was his future self still appearing to him as the KING of the Earth? Wouldn't his actions be counter-productive of that eventual end?

Shaking his head, Darien returned back to moving rubble around as he continued his self-given mission. Darien lifted a small boulder and saw that he had uncovered a familiar gloved hand still clutching a sword and knew that he'd finally found the fallen man that had volunteered to risk his life so that the rest of them could escape the youmas.

"Hang-on. Just a little while longer, Kyle," Prince Darien said as he then began to move more rubble away from the prone figure that was lying beneath the ruins of the passage way to the Throne Room. "Serena needs you so you've got to hang on for her."

/

Serena sat on the grassy hill that over-looked a small pond in the park where people could take small row boats and enjoy the summer breeze on the water and watched as the other people all seemed so happy as they went about their daily lives. None of them even realizing how things could change so drastically in barely a hair's breadth of time. All it took was one wrong turn of fate and the world could be turned upside down and never made right again. She wished that she wasn't aware of just how quickly such changes could happen but every time that she looked from one couple to another she only seemed to be reminded of how she had thought that she and Kyle had all of the time in the world. How could she have been so stupid? She of all people should have known how life can throw you a curve ball just as you are getting the hang of the game.

"Serena?"

Serena turned to see who had called her name and saw that Sammy's friend Mika was coming up the hill with a smile. "Mika? What are you doing here?"

"I like to come and watch the families playing in the park," Mika said with a shrug. "You don't mind if I sit with you do you?"

"Uh..." Serena didn't really feel like having company but she also couldn't think of a nice way to say that. Oh sure Brutus had come to sit with her but he had seemed to understand that she didn't want to talk right now. "Sure. Go ahead."

"Thanks," Mika said as she took a seat under the shade tree beside of Serena on the grass. The teen glanced over at the usually energetic and happy sister of her best friend and noticed that she seemed to a little off today. "Is something wrong?"

"Huh?" Serena asked since she had nearly forgotten that the other girl was beside of her after a little while.

"You just don't seem like your usual self, Serena," Mika said as she noticed that the older girl seemed more pensive than usual.

"I've just been thinking about how unfair life can be at times," Serena confessed as she set her chin on her knees.

Mika cocked her head and looked at Serena for a few seconds before responding to Serena's observation. "My dad says that the word FAIR is a ugly four letter word. If you go trying to make everything FAIR then you just end up going crazy with all of the UNFAIRNESS of the world." Serena turned her head to the girl that she figured that had most likely considered how things in her own life just wasn't fair. "He says to appreciate everything that life has to offer that can brighten your day instead. If you go and let yourself get caught up on all of the negative it usually rules your life without you even realizing it."

Serena looked back to the teen that would in her own right have plenty of reasons to be angry with the unfairness of the world. Here she was in a battle for her life against a scary medical condition and yet she was sharing how her father had told her to look for the good that was still in the world instead. She wondered how Mika could still do that despite all that she'd been through lately. Right now, for Serena herself, the last thing that she wanted to do was to look for anything that was still the least bit bright.


	57. Wounded Warrior

"I hadn't thought about what might have happened to the Generals of this dimension," Shadow Jupiter said thoughtfully. "So if you're here, where are the others?" She asked since she was still doubtful that this Jadeite wasn't the same one that she and the other Shadows had battled against in their own dimension for years. Only when she saw both men in the same room would she likely fully believe that this one was really against the Sailor Scouts.

"I don't know," Jadeite said reluctantly. "I didn't even know that Beryl was dead. It seems that a lot has happened since the Queen placed me in the Eternal Sleep." Jadeite clinched his fist at having to admit how ignorant he was about his current situation. "When I came up you were saying something about your own Scout of the Moon being vanquished."

Shadow Mercury scrutinized the man in front of her before replying, "This is of some interest to you?"

"It is," Jadeite said. "If you tell me how that was possible then we'll know how to destroy Sailor Moon."

"I doubt that's going to help very much," Shadow Venus scowled. "She destroyed Shadow Moon with the Imperium Silver Moon Crystal. And we're not likely to be able to take that from her to use it against the Moon Princess. We're not strong enough with just the three of us."

"Perhaps not yet," Jadeite said with a nod. "We'll need to store enough energy beforehand to draw on during a fight. Prepare the youmas for instructions, they'll be sent out on missions to bring some back."

Shadow Venus exchanged looks with the other Shadows. This man already seemed ready to step into the role left behind by Shadow Moon. She wasn't ready to follow a new leader just yet. On the other hand, Jadeite did seem to have a plan. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to let him run things for just a little while, just until the rest of them had fully recovered from their fight with the Scouts.

"The youmas are unpredictable, I'm not sure that using them is wise."

"Their only unpredictable if you don't know how to handle them," Jadeite said. "We need to see just what kind of youmas we have to use at our disposal and make plans accordingly."

"If the Scouts learn of youmas attacking innocents they'll be all over it," Shadow Jupiter pointed out.

"Only if they hear about it," Jadeite snickered. "They're usually only so nosey in Tokyo."

/

Darien had finally removed the last of the debris and freed The Crescent Moon Knight from his rocky prison beneath the fallen boulders from the ceiling. It seemed that Kyle's shield had protected him for the most part during the cave in but Darien could tell that his left leg had been crushed by the rocks. Using Kyle's sword, Darien made a splint for him before moving him. He hefted the other man up and carried him in a fireman's carry and began to pick his way back to the doorway that he'd come through to the Negaverse. The same one that Beryl had created for him and him alone back when he was brainwashed.

Beryl had carried a frightening obsession of him across the vast chasm of the millennia in which she had been imprisoned for her crime of assaulting the Moon Kingdom. She had used the dark magic that she wielded to make him believe that he held the same feelings for her as well. Darien shuddered at the memories of what had transpired each time he had used that portal to Beryl's private chambers. He had wanted to forget all about his time here in the Negaverse; apparently he hadn't been meant to since it was those same memories that allowed him to figure out a way to return for the fallen Knight.

Darien suspected that Ami had been using her computer to search for a new entryway in but it would be too late by the time the super computer discovered a door that hadn't been completely destroyed. Most of the doorways had been created by lesser beings or commanders that had served under the Generals. Those gateways were fairly easy to detect but they were also easy to destroy. The ones that had been created by the Generals or Queen Beryl were stronger and harder to detect. The door that Darien had been given as a GIFT from Beryl was among one of the strongest doors and one of the only ones that would have been so close to the site of the cave in. Any others that would be located would be much further away from the Throne Room.

Hearing Kyle begin to stir, Darien decided to take a break on his way to the doorway within the bedchamber of the dead Queen. He put the younger man on the ground and sat on a nearby boulder and watched as the blond began to awaken.

/

Wendy looked at her answering machine and sighed. She'd been ducking her mother ever since she had returned from the Negaverse. She hadn't been able to come up with the courage to tell her parents about what had happened to Kyle or why but she knew that she couldn't lie to them either. For the first couple of days Lily had left both Serena and Wendy alone. It was only after she had mentioned to Wendy that she was concerned that her youngest had still yet to return to work after his fight with the woman that she had believed to be Serena that Lily had suspected that Wendy knew something that she wasn't sharing. When Serena had refused to answer the phone or door to anyone that tried to talk to her, Lily had gone from concerned to being flat out worried. Still, Wendy couldn't bring herself to tell her that Kyle was most likely dead after a fight with evil women from another dimension.

Reluctantly, Wendy pressed the erase button without playing the messages. Her mother was sure to call again later on anyway. She then went to change out of her work clothes and headed back out, she couldn't stay in her apartment. After all, that would be the first place that her mother would look for her after work. Wendy decided that if she was going to dodge her mother she might as well as go over and check on Serena. If nothing else she knew that he dog (THE DOG!) would let her into the hotel suite. That was something that was still so strange for her to accept as well. Animals talking. Good Lord, what would be next?

/

Kyle began to open his eyes slowly to the dank and dark tunnel that he was in. Between that and the fact that his leg was killing him he knew that the events that had led up to the cave in had been no dream. Wincing slightly, Kyle tried to sit up and saw that he wasn't alone in the cave. When his eyes fell on the same man that he had told to get Serena and his sister to safety he grimaced and began to look around. If Prince Darien was here then that meant that they must still be here as well.

"Careful," Darien said as he pulled out his canteen of water that he'd brought with him into the Negaverse and handed over to Kyle. After being unconscious for so many days he was bound to be dehydrated. "I couldn't tell if you have any ribs broken. Your suit's too thick but you likely have at least a few cracked in there."

"I wasn't aware that you were a doctor," Kyle said as he nodded his thanks for the water. He was still looking around the room that he was in and noted that it didn't appear that he was in the Throne Room any longer.

"I'm not," Darien said with a shrug. "But after living through so many fights you begin to learn a few things like how to check out injuries along the way."

"Oh," Kyle started to rub his wrist that he had used to wield his sword to try to ease the ache within it and then asked, "Where are the girls?"

"Back in Tokyo," Darien said matter-of-factly.

"In Tokyo? Then what are you doing here?" Kyle asked. "I saw the door collapse so how did you get back into the Negaverse?"

"The last part will take some explaining but for what I'm doing here," Darien said while looking off toward the wall while listening for any youmas that might still be around. "I came back to get you out of here."

Kyle studied the man for a few moments, "Why? I know that you'd rather that I jump off the face of the Earth. Without me around Serena…"

"Is only a shell of what she used to be," Darien finished for Kyle. "When she woke up and learned that you'd been left behind…." Darien looked back down at the man and tried to find the right words. "She looked lost. She didn't talk to anyone, she just… sat there. I'd never seen her that way before."

"So you came back for me?" Kyle asked as he carefully slid back to lean against the wall of the room. "How did you know that I was still alive?"

Darien paused before answering. He wasn't sure if he wanted to reveal just what he'd learned from his future self or not. Still, he didn't see any other way to answer such a blunt question. "I didn't know for certain. But I had reason to believe that you were. You see, I tend to get dreams from my future self." Kyle raised his brow at the statement. "I know, it sounds weird but it's true," Darien said when he saw Kyle's expression of doubt. "Anyway, I received a dream of what would happen if you weren't brought back. So I came."

"What was in the dream?" Kyle asked. After all, it had to have been fairly extreme to cause the man to risk coming back after him.

Darien cocked his head as he thought that he'd heard a scuffling in the distance. It wasn't safe to stay here and chat. The youmas may steer clear of this area as a general rule but that didn't mean that there weren't a few foolish ones that would go against the norm. Right now, Kyle would be a sitting duck if one showed up. Standing, Darien went over to help Kyle to his feet.

"We'll talk while we walk," Darien said as he stooped and supported much of the other man's weight while helping him get up. "We need to get out of here before we start attracting any attention. The remaining Shadows and youmas are still here somewhere."

Kyle nodded and bit back the fresh assault of pain that he felt as he stood on one leg. It was only then that he really registered the fact that his left leg had been splinted with his sword. He had the feeling that while walking HE wouldn't be doing much talking. He'll have his hands full just trying to walk and control the pain.

/

Lita and Rei were both at the hotel trying to get Serena to talk to them since only by doing so could their friend be expected to move on. Like it or not, it didn't seem as if Kyle had been able to escape the Negaverse by some other way since it had been several days with no sign of Serena's fiancé. Lita had also made sure that Serena had plenty of opportunity to eat. She was concerned that if someone didn't make her that the leader of the Scouts wouldn't eat at all. Lita was glad that Brutus had been able to get Serena out of the room some and she was grateful to the canine. Still, Serena wasn't herself. She no longer seemed to have any life reflecting in her eyes. There was no spark in them at all. That worried Lita a great deal.

Rei had tried to do a fire reading for Kyle but seemed to get mixed results each time that she had done so. She had also tried to locate any other possible way in to rescue Kyle but any that she had found seemed to be far too unstable or too far away from the Throne Room to use. As Ami had said the first time that she had tried to locate other ways into the Negaverse when Sammy had been taken; if they went in using one of those doorways they could be lost for days, maybe even weeks, without finding the Throne Room. It broke Rei's heart at having to help her friend accept the reality that the man that she loved was gone. This was even harder than when Beryl had taken Darien back when they had first learned of the fact that Serena was the Moon Princess. At least then Darien was alive and they were all able to hold out for the hope that he would be returned to them. With Kyle…

Rei shook her head to clear it as she heard a knock at the door and went to see who it was. It wasn't any real surprise to see Wendy at the door. Rei tried to remember that the woman was having to deal with the loss of Kyle as well. Just in a different way. Rei didn't have any siblings but she imagined that the other Scouts were as close as sisters to her as they ever could be. She and Serena had certainly had their moments over the years that could probably rival any cat fight between two sisters that ever were. She may have only shown her anger when her friend had ran away but the truth of it was that she was more comfortable with her anger than she was with the fear that had clutched her heart when she had thought that Serena was gone for good. Now Rei knew that the same fear had to have a strong hold on Wendy's heart over her younger brother.

"Hey, you're just in time for some dinner," Rei said as she stepped aside to allow the older woman to enter the hotel suite.

"Sounds good," Wendy said with a forced smile. "I didn't eat before I left my apartment. Not that I could have, I suppose. I haven't made it around to the grocery store this week." Rei nodded her understanding and led Wendy over to the kitchenette.

"Well, Lita always enough to feed an army," Rei said as she took a stool at the bar.

Wendy took a place beside her as she glanced towards Serena's direction as she sat on the couch and just stared out of the sliding glass doors off into the distance. A plate had been placed in front of her and looked barely touched on the coffee table. Wendy hadn't really felt like eating either but she'd been put in positions where she had been forced to keep up appearances. You could hardly have a business lunch and NOT eat.

Sitting down to the food that was put in front of her, Wendy took a bite of the dish that Lita had prepared. It was the latest recipe that she had learned and wanted to try out for her friends.

"Are you sure that you've just started going to a culinary school? We've had people that couldn't cook half this well try to get a job at some of our restaurants," Wendy said after she swallowed.

Lita smiled and straightened a bit at the compliment. "I've always loved to cook. You might as well do what you love."

"Well it shows that you love to cook alright," Wendy said as she went to take another bite. "Serena," Wendy called to the other woman in the sitting room. "Why don't you eat a little something, too?"

"I've already eaten," Serena said in a mumble.

"Only THREE BITES!" Rei said in response. "That's hardly enough."

"Rei," Lita said softly to have her friend pull back. It'd been a victory of sorts to just get Serena to eat those same three bites. It was best not to push too hard right now. Serena would eat on her own terms. Not just because she was bullied into doing so.

Rei heaved a sigh but didn't argue any further. Instead she went back to eating her own meal. After a few moments the silence was broken by the sound of Serena's phone ringing in her purse. Serena, however, didn't make a move to answer it. Instead it was allowed to ring until her voicemail kicked in. Next the sound of Serena's communicator chimed in the silence as once again the tones were ignored by the woman on the couch.

"Serena, that's the communicator," Lita said as she moved toward the purse on the floor. "One of the others might be in trouble." Seeing that even that had her friend unmoved Lita took it upon herself to take the device out of Serena's purse and saw that it was Darien that was trying to contact the despondent leader of the Scouts. "Darien? We haven't heard from you in a few days. Has something happened?"

"Where's Serena?" Darien asked since he knew that the sooner that he spoke with her the better.

"She's beside me but she isn't really in the mood to talk to anyone right now," Lita said as she saw her friend shift further away from her and the communicator. "But she can hear you if you need to tell her something," Lita added.

Darien paused on his end for a moment, "Tell her that Kyle's alright but he's over at Jubian Hospital getting patched up."

"Kyle?" All four women and the lone canine in the room each asked simultaneously. Serena reached to take the communicator from Lita and practically started to yell into the device.

"Patched up? How hurt is he? Is he going to be okay? Is he…"

"His leg got pretty banged up I know but he'll be fine," Darien assured his ex-girlfriend while a part of him wondered if she would still be that concerned for him if it had been him in the hospital instead. "Have one of the girls bring you over and you'll probably get here just as they get him all settled into a room. They're going to keep him overnight for observation."

"If he's alright then why does he have to stay in the hospital?" Serena asked as she saw Wendy grabbing up her keys and head to the door and wait for Serena to join her.

"It's just to be safe. Oh, and we told the doctors that he was hurt while we were rock climbing. I had to tell them that Kyle was involved in a rock slide," Darien said to fill the others in on their cover story for Kyle's injuries that he'd sustained during the aftermath of the fight with the Shadows.

"Right, we're on our way!" Serena switched off the communicator and headed out the door with Wendy. Leaving the others to watch in amazement at just how quickly their friend had gone from being listless to full of energy with only a few words.


	58. The Reunion

Serena was practically out of Wendy's car before she had even pulled into a parking space. She bound up from the parking area over to the entrance to the hospital and rushed the information desk only to see that there were already others there waiting to learn of their own family members who were in the hospital for one reason or another. Serena looked around impatiently to see if there was any other person that she'd be able to ask to find out how Kyle was doing now and to tell her where he was at. That was when she saw Darien standing off to the side. A flash of the fact that had Darien left Kyle behind to face the Shadows and youmas alone in the Throne Room came to mind. She narrowed her eyes as he approached her.

"Serena," Darien approached his former girlfriend but was unaccustomed to seeing the malice in her expression. "I didn't think that you'd be able to get here this fast."

"I'm sure that you didn't," Serena said as she looked back once again to see if the nurse was still busy. All she saw was that Wendy had finally made it to the hospital lobby. "I suppose that I should thank you for at least calling me when you learned that Kyle was here."

"Serena, I..."

"Just tell me if you know where he is," Serena said interrupting Darien.

"He's up on the fourth floor," Darien said with a sigh, "Room 432."

Nearly before the words were out of his mouth Serena was heading toward the elevators to go up to the indicated floor. He didn't have much time to bemoan the fact though since Kyle's sister was now taking Serena's place to ask him where Kyle was.

"Thank you for calling us about Kyle," Wendy said as she approached the dark haired man that she remembered from the night of the attacks. "Not to mention, for going back to get him."

"You're welcome," Darien said as he greeted the blond. "I told the authorities that Kyle and I were over at Jogasaki at the sea cliffs free climbing."

"Did they believe you?" Wendy asked as she and Darien both began to walk to the elevators.

"Enough to fine us for acting reckless," Darien said with a nod.

"How is he?" Wendy asked about her brother as she and Darien stepped through the elevator doors.

"His left leg was pretty well crushed and his right hand will be in a sling for a few weeks due to some fractures. Fortunately, his suit and his shield seems to have protected his ribs. They're just bruised."

"Thank goodness for that," Wendy said in relief. Despite the injuries that he'd sustained Kyle was now safe and sound. "You said something about him being kept over-night for observation earlier."

"Mainly due to the dehydration," Darien said as he pushed the button that would take them to the fourth floor. "But he'll be alright."

Wendy gave the dark-haired man a smile of appreciation. She knew that going back to rescue Kyle couldn't be easy for Darien; not with Kyle being the new man in his ex-girlfriend's life. Still, he had taken it upon himself to find a way back into the Negaverse when everyone else had thought that it was impossible and had brought her brother back to safety. For that, Wendy will be eternally grateful.

The two reached the fourth floor and Darien led Wendy toward the room that Kyle had been put into and Darien stayed outside while the blond went into the room to join her brother and future sister-in-law. He then left the three to their reunion and headed back downstairs. He knew when he wasn't needed around anymore.

/

When Serena made it into Kyle's room she bolted directly to the side of the bed just as soon as she saw her fiancé. "Kyle! Thank goodness that you're alive!" Serena squealed as she leaned over Kyle to hug him as tightly as the she could while reaching over the metal rails around the hospital bed.

"I wasn't aware that I was dead," Kyle said with a chuckle. "Though I should thank Darien for coming back for me. I couldn't have gotten out from that rubble if he hadn't."

"He shouldn't have needed to go back for you in the first place. You shouldn't have been left behind," Serena said with her jaw set.

"Hold on, Serena," Kyle said as he sat up a bit more in the bed. "I'm the one that volunteered to cover the rear and told Darien to get you and Wendy back here safely."

"But..."

"No, he only did what I told him to do," Kyle said while gently putting his hand to Serena's chin and forced her to look him in the eye. "The only thing that I was worried about was making sure that you and my sister got out of there. Darien made sure of that. Don't be mad at him. Besides, no one asked him to go back and get me." Serena bit her lip before slowly nodding her head. She then leaned in for one more long hug as if to assure herself that Kyle really was here in this room with her.

Meanwhile, Kyle was trying to figure out away to speak with Serena about some of the things that he'd heard from Darien about just what all had occurred while he was trapped within the Negaverse. After hearing how Serena had completely shut-down at his absence, while a bit flattering that he meant so much to Serena, Kyle knew to do so was not healthy for her. Nor was it good to hear that had the others needed her that Serena wouldn't have been able to force herself to be there for them. Kyle had witnessed so much growth in Serena since he'd first met her but could it be that she was beginning to lose some of that growth? Was she depending on him too much now? Before Kyle could find the words that he needed to try to bring this up to Serena, Kyle saw his older sister coming through the door to his room to join them.

"Hey, Sis," Kyle said with a smile as he released his own hold on Serena, ending the embrace which had been awkward with the fact that he was in a hospital with rails on it. "I bet that you thought that you'd gotten rid of me, huh?"

"Don't even kid like that," Wendy said with scowl. "I still can't believe that you thought that you could take on all of those creatures on your own in the first place."

"Who says that I didn't?" Kyle asked with a look that spoke of mock annoyance. "It was the boulders that fell from the ceiling that had the upper hand on me." Kyle then gave a smile to his sister, "If it hadn't been for the cave-in I would have made it out just fine."

"And what makes you so sure?" Wendy asked as she walked up to her brother's bed and gave him a hug of her own. She was so glad that he was back that she couldn't really find the words to say it. Of course having Kyle sit there and pretend as if he hadn't been very close to death itself wasn't helping her very much.

"The youmas were all starting to pull back just before the cave-in," Kyle said with a shrug.

"Well that's a blessing in itself but just for putting me through that, YOU get to tell Mom and Dad just where you've been for the last few days," Wendy said while pushing at lightly at Kyle's shoulder only to feel guilty for causing him some pain since it was his injured arm.

"I think it'd be best if I just tell them the same thing that Darien and I told the doctors," Kyle said after a moment's thought. "I'm not sure how to break all of this to them; or how they'll take it."

"Probably in a similar manner that I did." Wendy said in response. "Of course I didn't have the luxury of knowing that you were alright at the time that I realized just WHO had been the man that had sent the rest of us on ahead while saying that he'd bring up the rear."

"Alright, alright," Kyle said as he put his hands out in surrender to his older sister. "Though I don't think that the hospital is the best place to tell them."

"Oh, I don't know," Wendy said while crossing her arms across her chest. "Considering that news like this just might give them each a heart attack it might not be a bad idea to tell them here."

Kyle gave his sister a look but didn't say anything else. He had known that he should tell his family about his newly acquired powers but he just hadn't figured out how to. Maybe a part of him had figured that he had plenty of time. After all, Serena had been Sailor Moon for nearly four whole years before her brother had found out. Oh, Kyle hadn't planned on waiting that long but he wasn't sure just how long he had planned to push that particular envelop before finally having a sit down with his own family.

Noting that Serena had remained strangely quiet during the whole exchange with his sister, Kyle looked back and saw that she looked exhausted. He wondered just how much sleep she had gotten while he was gone. By the looks under her eyes he'd venture not much. Further evidence of just how Darien had described Serena's reaction to his disappearance had not been exaggerated at all. If anything, Darien just might have gone light on the telling of how much Serena had withdrew into herself while she thought that he was dead. Yet something else that he'll have to talk with her once he and Serena were able to talk in private. Once everything had settled back down of course.

/

By the time that Darien stumbled into his apartment the exhaustion of the last few days finally began to catch up to him. Barely even taking the time to remove his shoes, Darien moved toward his bedroom in a haze and fell into a deep slumber before his head even hit his pillow.

Once in a dream, Darien glanced around and saw that he was in the old Moon Kingdom. He'd recognized it from his previous dreams throughout the past several years. It was the same polished stone of the same polished palace; just the same as it had looked a millennia ago during the height of Queen Serenity's reign. Darien heard the sound of footsteps approaching from behind him so he turned and found himself face to face with the long dead ruler of the Silver Millennia.

"Your Highness," Darien said respectfully.

"Prince Darien," The serene Queen said as she neared the man that had won her daughter's heart in another lifetime and would once again in another. "You've had a rough few months. Especially these last few days." Darien's face lite in surprise at the Queen's knowledge of what had just transpired this past week but as well as the fact that she acknowledged the reason for his own distress over the last several months. First with Serena running away from her friends and family; then second with her return with a fiancé. "You seem surprised," Serenity said with an amused smile. "Don't be. I've always tried to keep an eye my daughter and those that she cares for. That includes you, Darien."

"Then you know that Serena and Kyle are planning to …"

"Get married," Serenity finished for the Prince. "Yes, I know. And that's one of the things that I wanted to talk with you about." The Queen motioned for Darien to sit on a padded bench nearby with her.

"You're getting ready to tell me that Serena and I aren't meant to be together," Darien said with a sigh. "Right? That is what you were about to tell me?"

Queen Serenity chuckled and shook her head, "You've always thought that you've had the answers even before you fully understood the questions."

"Then Serena ISN'T supposed to marry Kyle?" Darien asked hopefully.

"It's not quite that simple," Serenity said with compassion. "That subject is a bit complicated."

"How can it be complicated? She's either meant to marry me or she isn't?" Darien said while watching the ancient Queen's face as she tried to find the right words for this conversation.

"Actually, is all a matter of timing." Serenity said. "This will take some time to explain."


	59. Leaving the Hospital

"You see, this lifetime was meant to help you and Serena to grow in order to become the people that you are meant to be in your final carnation." Serenity told Darien as she stood and walked a few paces away. "You, Darien, were able to do just that in the last few days. You were able to put aside your own desires and feelings and performed a truly selfless act."

"A selfless act?" Darien felt uncomfortable for some reason by the way that Queen Serenity described his rescue of Serena's fiancé.

"You saved Kyle knowing that doing so could create a permanent obstacle between you and Serena. That selfless act has unlocked new possibilities for your destiny for this lifetime," The Queen replied. "There is no right or wrong when it comes to how each of you are pursuing your current lives. Not in the way that most of you have concluded up to this point. Yes things that occur in this life-time will affect the next to a point but you shouldn't be concerned with the next life. Only the one that you've been given in the here and now should affect any decisions that you make."

"But I thought that we were bound by our former and future lives," Darien said confused. After all, if they weren't supposed to be so important to his and Serena's current lives then why would they have been told about them so long ago?

"What has happened in the past has tied itself to you, that's true, but it was never meant to make you feel as if you no longer have any choice for the present," Serenity said while shaking her head. "Needless to say I'm sure that had you not been told of the future that you were shown when Small Lady came to this time period for your help you may have made some different choices along the way in the last few years."

Darien went to deny what the Queen had said but in his heart of hearts he knew that the woman spoke truth. He wondered what how he would have spent his last few years had he not been told of the past and then Crystal Tokyo. Before he became Tuxedo Mask and Beryl attacked the Earth he had a girlfriend and was living the life of an average college student. Then it seemed like overnight his life changed. As he spent more and more time as Tuxedo Mask his girlfriend at the time would become more and more frustrated by his disappearances. It hadn't taken her long to move on as he delved deeper into his secret-life. Then he had learned of his past life (as well as his past love) and everything just changed. He had suddenly felt himself completely devoted to Serena without question. He had given himself over to protecting her as well as the future that they had seen together. Never really seeing beyond how this life would affect the next.

"There's no guarantee of that," Darien said knowing that it seemed like a lame response even to his own ears.

Smiling, the Queen replied, "No, nor are there ever such guarantees in anything else in life."

/

Kyle bit his tongue as he waited for his family to decide to leave him and Serena alone in his hospital room. Fortunately, both of his parents believed the story about him heading off to go rock climbing. After all, he had always preferred to get active when he was angry and as far as his mother knew he was angry with Serena the last time she had seen him. Only Wendy knew that his climbing partner had been Serena's ex-boyfriend. Wendy repeatedly would make a motion to indicated her brother to prod him to bring up his new alter ego but Kyle intentionally look away and come up with a subject that was as far from any talk of the Negaverse as possible. Something that he could tell was getting on his sister's nerves but he somehow figured that Wendy would give him a reprieve from telling his parents about being the Crescent Moon Knight given the fact that he didn't exactly look his best.

Finally after a quite lengthy lecture from his mother about being more careful when he went rock climbing Kyle's parents left the couple alone; glad that their son would be alright after his experience in the rockslide that had buried him alive. Once alone Kyle glanced over at Serena and scrunched his brow in concern.

"Serena, why don't you go on back to the hotel and get some sleep?" Kyle suggested since he had counted at least four yawns in the last ten minutes.

"If you think that after what nearly happened to you that I'm going to leave you alone just yet then you are crazy," Serena said as she sat on the edge of the bed and rested her head on Kyle's good shoulder. "You're not getting rid of me just yet."

Kyle smirked to himself since he hadn't really expected Serena to leave and a part of him was glad that Serena wanted to stay with him. "Trust me; I'd never try to get rid of you."

"You'd better not," Serena said as she leaned over and gave her fiancé a kiss on the cheek. Serena then lazily started to giggle.

"What?" Kyle asked about Serena's amusement.

"It's Wendy," Serena replied. "She looked about ready to strangle you by the time that she and your parents left. You know that she planned for you to go ahead and tell your parents the real reason why you're here."

"I know it's just that I think that I need a little time so I can figure out the right way to tell them," Kyle said knowing that Serena, of all people, could understand his hesitation to come out with it in an abrupt manner.

"Yeh, well it's not going to get much easier," Serena said sleepily.

Kyle nodded his acknowledgement. After all no one would know that better than she would. Kyle then went to open his mouth so that he could ask Serena about some of the things that Darien had told him about while he was gone but stopped himself when he saw that she was almost out already. Holding her tight up against him he figured that it could wait. Kyle then shifted a bit to get comfortable and let the pain medications lull him off into a dreamless sleep as well.

/

Rei finished setting up a place for Brutus before turning in herself. When Serena and Wendy had left out for the hospital Rei had taken it upon herself to bring Brutus back to the temple since it was obvious that no one would be returning to the hotel anytime tonight. As independent as the dog was Rei knew that it'd still be best for him to stay a few days here with her rather than staying alone in the hotel. If it hadn't been for the fact that Brutus had been the only one to really get through to Serena while she had been mourning the loss of Kyle, she would have suggested that the animal should come here before now. After all, it was clear that Serena hadn't been up to caring for herself, much less anyone else over the last couple of days.

Brutus watched as the priestess seemed to be lost in her thoughts. Eventually he walked up to Rei and asked her what was on her mind.

"What makes you so sure that something's on my mind?" Rei asked as she stood up from the small pallet that she'd made for the dog and walked back over to where her own bed was.

"Just the way that you're being a bit pensive," Brutus said as he settled into the bed that Rei had set up for him.

Rei sighed and wondered if she should bite her tongue or if she should tell the dog about her concerns for Serena. She'd helped Serena through her deterioration after Beryl had brainwashed Darien years ago but this time with Kyle had been much worse. During the time everyone had thought that Kyle was dead Serena had been absolutely inconsolable. Rei was glad that Kyle was alright but a part of her just couldn't stop thinking about what could happen if something was to happen to him in the future. The Scouts couldn't afford for their leader to slip into a catatonic state anytime one of their numbers were injured or worse. After all, their lives as being the Sailor Scouts weren't always safe. Rei couldn't help but have a nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach that if Darien hadn't been able to rescue Kyle that Serena would have only continued to slip away from her and the others.

"I'm just thinking about the last few days...With Serena and Kyle," Rei finally replied.

"I think that you were more afraid for Serena than for Kyle. Although to be honest; it was as if we'd lost both of them while Kyle was missing," Brutus said as he put his head on his paws after he stretched out on the blankets.

"Yeh, it was," Rei said as she folded the blankets on her bed and prepared to climb in for the night. "And I'm afraid that if anything ever happens to Kyle again this won't be the last time that we'll lose her."

/

The next day Kyle was released from the hospital and was allowed to go back to the hotel that had been his and Serena's home since coming to Tokyo. Considering that Kyle had a bummed shoulder and broken wrist in addition to his shattered leg he was given a wheelchair instead of crutches for the next ten to twelve weeks. At least until his wrist was healed. Hopefully he wouldn't need to have a cast on leg for much longer than that. Although his doctor had warned him that he should be prepared to keep the cast on his shattered leg for up to twenty-four weeks. That meant that he'd be out of action as far as fighting the remaining Shadow Scouts for quite some time.

Serena and Kyle were joined by Wendy as he got settled into the hotel room. Wendy watched as Serena fretted over Kyle. On some level Wendy found Kyle's discomfort with all of the extra attention that he was getting quite funny. It was almost as if he was getting his payback for not telling their parents about the real reason that he was in the hospital. Wendy giggled a bit to herself as Serena got Kyle settled in on the couch.

"Serena, I'm fine," Kyle said as he tried to shoo Serena away as she put one too many pillows under his leg that was in a cast.

"I just want to make sure that everything's just right," Serena said as she fluffed one more pillow and went to put it behind Kyle.

"It is. I promise," Kyle said chuckling. Kyle then tried to distract Serena with nearly anything that he could think of, including her school work which had been placed on the back burner along with everything else over the last few days, in an effort to get his fiancée to focus on anything other than the fact that he was injured.

"Everything will keep for a few more days," Serena insisted. "I'll just call Mrs. Emerson and…"

"No, I think it'd be best to try to get back to our normal lives. Besides, you're too close to finishing up your last semester to start putting off your work now."

Serena bit her lip and looked to Wendy to see if she would offer any support but sighed when she saw that the other Garret looked more apt to agree with her brother rather than her future sister-in-law. "Alright. Fine," Serena said in a huff. "I'll get back to working on studying for my final exam, later. Right now I'll…"

Wendy grinned as her brother shot her a look for help. "Serena, Kyle will be fine. I'll be here to keep him company and our parents are coming over in a little bit, too. So you can head off to the library to study."

Serena raised a brow but knew when she was out-numbered. "Fine, I'll call Amy and see if she wants to meet me at the library for a couple of hours."

Serena then got her books together and made her call and arranged to meet her friend at the library before kissing Kyle good-bye. Once Serena was gone Wendy didn't hold back her amusement any longer.

"Don't start relaxing too much, Baby Brother," Wendy said through the giggles. "You'd better start figuring out just what you plan to tell Mom and Dad because you're not going to get out of telling them about what really happened to put you in the hospital. Not this time."

"Oh come on, Sis. You're not really going to make me drop a bombshell like this on them like this are you?" Kyle asked almost pleading.

"Well it's either you tell them now or they'll get to learn the same way I did," Wendy said with her hands on her hips. "I'm sure if given the chance they'd tell you that they'd MUCH rather you just come right out and tell them BEFORE you end up having to go up against those Shadow people again."

"Well, look on the bright side. It doesn't look like I'll be going out to fight anyone anytime soon," Kyle said with a smirk. "I'd look kind of silly trying to wield a sword from a wheel chair."

"That's not funny, Kyle!" Wendy squealed. "From what I've seen you could have ended up a lot worse off. So how are you going to tell Mom and Dad about your new life-style?"

Kyle opened his mouth to reply but quickly closed it since he couldn't think of anything to say.


	60. Caving In

Serena twirled her pencil as she stared blankly at the book that she'd brought with her to study at the library. She just couldn't concentrate and there was no getting around it. Her thoughts kept going back to Kyle and the fact that even as she sat here he was back at the hotel injured. A disturbing thing to face for sure regardless of which of her friends were hurt. Somehow, though, it was more so with the fact that it was Kyle. He always seemed so strong all of the time and just being near him at times seemed to make her feel more confident. Now he had a crushed leg, broken wrist and a dislocated shoulder but he was acting as if there was nothing to worry about despite the fact that he had very nearly died fighting against the Shadows and the youmas back in Queen Beryl's old throne room. In her heart Serena couldn't shake all of the terror that she'd felt when she thought that she'd never see Kyle again.

Throwing her pencil down on the desk, Serena closed her book in resignation to the fact that nothing on the page was making it inside her brain. The action drew Ami's attention away from her own books and caused her to look up in concern for her friend.

"Serena, are you okay?"

Taking in a heavy sigh Serena answered, "I suppose so. I just think that trying to study was a bad idea. I just can't concentrate with everything that's happened this week."

"I think I can understand that," Ami replied. "I was a little surprised when you called and suggested this in the first place. I was certain that you wouldn't be letting Kyle out of your sight anytime soon."

"Well, that was my original plan but Kyle said that I should try to get back to my studies," Serena said with a shrug. "He doesn't want to be the reason for me not finishing up my diploma. Mrs. Emerson has been trying to keep a pace that would allow me to be finished by the time Kyle starts back for his next semester. That way if I wanted to go back home I could when his college starts back. Kyle's acting as if nothing happened to him this week and that's just a bit unnerving."

Ami nodded her understanding while mentally cringing at the reminder that Serena no longer considered Tokyo her home anymore. "Perhaps that's just his way of dealing. After all, this was really his first brush with the very real possibility of what can go wrong when you fight the kind of evil that we do on a regular basis. I think we can all remember a time when we were forced to see the true danger that we are in when we transform."

Serena lowered her head, "I guess you're right. Plus Wendy's pushing for Kyle to go ahead to tell their parents about everything, too."

"She is?" Ami asked just a bit surprised. Here she had been Sailor Mercury for four years but she had yet to tell her own mother of her alter ego. "Do you think that they can handle it? You know, do you think that ..."

"That our secret will be safe with them? I think so. Lily and Brian might be a little thrown off balance at first when they are told but once it all sinks in they should be fine," Serena said after taking a few seconds to think about her future in-laws.

"It just seems a little soon," Ami said though she supposed she was trying to justify the fact that her own mother was still in the dark about her own clandestine activities.

"Maybe a little but I can see why Wendy may not like being the only one in her family to know about Kyle," Serena said as she looked toward the wall clock and tried to figure if she'd been away from the hotel long enough to go back without it looking like she had been keeping track of the seconds before she could leave the library.

"I didn't think that you noticed how it was affecting Wendy while Kyle was missing," Ami said softly and reluctantly.

Ami immediately wished that she hadn't said anything when Serena looked up at her looking both hurt and a bit confused. Still, with the way that Serena had shut down during the time that Kyle was left behind in the Negaverse it hadn't seemed that Serena had cared about anything or anyone else. Even if that fact did hurt now after the fact.

/

Kyle squirmed a bit uncomfortably on the couch as his sister and parents each got comfortable after his sister had suggested that he should do the same by ditching the wheelchair. Only once sitting on the deceptively comfortable looking furniture did he realize his sister's motive. Now that his wheelchair was moved out of reach Kyle saw that Wendy had seen to it that he couldn't just up and leave the room should he get cold feet again about telling his parents about his recent life changes. Of course when Kyle realized this Wendy smiled broadly and leaned back into her chair.

"Well Kyle," The elder Garret spoke up as he watched his two children exchange glances. He knew that those glances meant that one of them had something to tell him and his wife. By the way that his son was squirming (in addition to the fact that Wendy had been the one to ask both Lilly and himself to come to the hotel) told Brian that it was his son that was the reason for this impromptu family meeting. "Would you happen to know why your sister believes that you have something to say to your mother and I?"

Kyle eyed his sister one last time before clearing his throat. "I…uh…I suppose that Wendy has already told you a little bit about why she had you come over here." Wendy only smiled a bit wider since she hadn't told their parents anything since she figured that it would be best for Kyle to be the one to tell them EVERYTHING.

"Actually Son, she hasn't told us anything," Brian said while glancing over at his daughter.

"Oh," Kyle then tried to sit a bit taller on the couch while trying to kill a little bit of time. He wasn't all that sure just how he was supposed ease into this conversation. "Well, I guess I should tell you that it has to do with the real reason why I got hurt. I didn't really get hurt while rock-climbing."

"You didn't?" Lily asked in concern for her son. "Then how did you really get hurt?"

Kyle now knew yet one more reason why Serena had waited four years to tell her parents that she was Sailor Moon. Trying to find the words to tell his parents that he was now helping Serena and her friends with their fight against evil was more difficult that he thought. "I was actually in a cave-in." Kyle figured that it was best to start with a smaller bit of truth that would be easier to wrap their minds around it.

"A cave-in? How did you end up in a cave-in?" Kyle's mother asked confused.

Kyle nodded toward his mother and caught a glimpse of his sister enjoying his floundering. This was her revenge for having to duck their parents while she and the others thought that he was gone for good and she was reveling in every second of it. "This is going to take some time to explain so you may want to wait until I'm finished before you interrupt."

Brian and Lily Garret both exchanged weary glances then waited for their son to tell them just how he had actually gotten hurt along with his reason for why he had felt the need to lie about it when he had first gotten to the hospital yesterday.

/

Serena walked back toward the hotel still thinking about what Ami had said about how she had behaved during the days that she had believed that Kyle was dead. Here she had thought that her fiancé was gone for good so of course she would be devastated. She couldn't see why anyone would have expected anything else of her. What was she supposed to do after learning that Kyle had been left behind in the Negaverse? In Serena's opinion she thought that she had done precisely what anyone else would have done had the love of THEIR lives been left for dead.

Serena shifted her books in her arms as she waited for the crossing light to change so she could cross the street as she continued to head to the place that had been her home since returning to the city. Serena wondered if the other Scouts had the same opinion as Ami had about her behavior over the recent days. Oh sure Ami had been as tactful as she could. Especially after her initial slip but still the fact that Ami had felt that Serena had behaved irrationally in the last week was behind that slip. Letting out a heavy sigh, Serena stepped out into the street and headed further away from the library where she had studied with her friend. She passed various shops along her way barely even noticing them; she had seen the same ones numerous times and there was nothing new to see in them. In her hurry Serena never even saw an all too familiar figure approaching her until he was practically right up on top of her.

"Serena," Darien said as he moved to keep Serena's books from falling. "I was planning to call and see how Kyle is doing now. I heard that he was released from the hospital this morning."

"Darien…" Serena said in a tone that was somewhere between irritation and surprise at the fact that he was now standing in front of her. "He's…uh… Kyle won't be joining us in any battles against the Shadows again anytime soon. His left leg is totally shattered."

Darien nodded since he had expected as much. "At least he's going to be alright."

Serena bit her lip before finally admitting, "Thanks to you. Kyle talked to me about what happened back in the cave. I'm sorry that I snapped at you at the hospital." Darien raised an eyebrow since he had not expected Serena to try to apologize to him. Not yet at least. "I do have one question for you, though. Why did you go back for Kyle? Without even knowing if he was alive or not."

"Serena," Darien said softly as he handed her books back to his former girlfriend. "I went back because I couldn't just sit by and watch you while you were so miserable, so lost. I did the only thing that I could think of. I'm just glad that, for your sake, I was able to find Kyle and bring him back."

Serena locked onto the word lost. She hadn't been that bad had she?

/

"Wait a minute," Lily was exasperated after hearing what her son had just told her. "You are saying that Serena is Sailor Moon? That she told you that right after you proposed to her?"

Kyle took in a deep breath. Maybe he shouldn't have sent Serena off to study with Ami after all. He could definitely use a little help explaining things right about now. "Yes. She wanted to make sure that I knew what I was getting into before she accepted."

"That had to be a lot to take in at one time," Brian said while studying his son. He still wasn't exactly sure how the fact that Serena was Sailor Moon was relevant to Kyle's injuries. Though perhaps he had somehow gotten caught up in a fight where Serena, Sailor Moon, and whatever evil that she now battles had engaged in.

"It was. Still, it didn't change the fact that I wanted, still want, to marry Serena," Kyle said with a smile.

"So how did you get hurt? Why didn't Serena tell us that you were hurt before your friend got you to the hospital? Does this friend know that Serena is Sailor Moon?" Lily asked as she thought about the usually bubbly young woman.

"Yes, Darien knows that Serena is a Sailor Scout. He's even fought alongside Sailor Moon and the other Scouts for the last few years," Kyle replied with the answers to the questions that were easier to give. "I was hurt when I was helping them free some friends and family members that the people that call themselves the Shadow Scouts had kidnapped."

"But why you? You have no powers to go up against these Shadow Scouts," Lily was horrified that her son had so carelessly put himself in harm's way.

"Actually, I do," Kyle said while trying to not sound smug about it.

"What?" Now it was Brian's turn to sound surprised. Kyle felt whatever smugness that he had allowed to creep up on him wither away as he tried decide just how to proceed after his revelation. "What do you mean that you have POWERS now too? And if you have them then how did you get incapacitated to the point where you are now stuck in a wheelchair for the next six months?"

"I was given the power to help when Serena was taken by the Shadow Scouts several months back. Actually I'm glad that I was since it's helped me to learn more about her; to know just what all she's been through since she first took on the mantle of being Sailor Moon," Kyle said while trying to deflect the questions why his newly acquired powers hadn't helped keep him safe during his last battle.

Brian Garret thought on how he might have handled it had he learned that his wife was someone of Sailor Moon's status when they were still dating. Sure he was used to the status that money brought with it but the kind of power that Sailor Moon had would be of a completely different kind of status.

"You still didn't tell us how it was that you were hurt," Brian said as he re-focused his thoughts back to something that he could grasp a bit easier.

"We had all split up since the three hostages were each in separate parts of the Negaverse," Kyle saw his mother about to ask more questions, some of which might have included the identities of the hostages and he was fairly certain that they couldn't handle knowing that one of them had been Wendy, so he quickly continued. After all, if Wendy wanted them to know that she had been taken hostage she would have most likely told them herself. "I'm not really sure how to explain the Negaverse but the part that I was in was mainly just dark caves. Anyway, I was caught in a cave-in when a power surge caused an earthquake."

"Why wouldn't Serena tell us that…" Lily started to ask dumb-founded.

"She and the others wouldn't have wanted to tell you anything until they were sure. After all, Serena wouldn't have wanted to worry you needlessly," Kyle said in defense of his fiancée. "Just as she hasn't ever wanted to worry her own family over the years; in fact she has only recently told her parents that she is Sailor Moon."

"You're kidding!" Lily exclaimed. She couldn't imagine her child being a Super Hero for YEARS and never knowing about it.

"Nope," Kyle said as he shook his head. "It was always safer for them if no one knew who she and the others were."

"So why did she change her mind and tell them after all of this time?" Brian asked.

"Well. The Shadow Scouts know who all of the Sailor Scouts are which has made it more dangerous for them to remain ignorant of Serena's alter-ego. Just as it is for the three of you to not know that I'm the …" Kyle coughed since his own alter-ego's name still sounded odd to his own ears. "Crescent Moon Knight."

Wendy bit her lip as she felt that maybe she should tell her parents that one of the hostages that Kyle had gone into the Negaverse to rescue was in fact her. She knew that Kyle was leaving that part out on purpose for now so that their parents wouldn't panic further. They have enough on their hands trying to process the fact that Kyle was now more than just their son. He was now a defender of justice that far out-reached the standard definition of that term that they were used to. Perhaps knowing just how close the danger had come to the family would be too much to take in right now. But she knew that she should tell them; later though. Much, much later.


	61. Luna's Big Mouth

Serena opened the door to the hotel room that she and Kyle were staying in and was greeted by an exasperated shriek as she walked in.

"Are you saying that your sister was kidnapped by these Shadows?" After hearing Kyle's mother's question Serena looked over at her fiancé and saw him giving Wendy a look that told her that it hadn't been him that had spilled the beans on how Wendy had learned of Kyle's alter ego. Looking around, Serena wondered if it was too late to back out of the room only to realize that it was as Kyle's parents turned and noticed that she had now joined the small family. "Serena?" Lily looked over at the young woman that she had come to love over the last several months. She and Serena had enjoyed days of shopping together and Serena had even begun to work along-side the family. Looking at that same young woman her son was engaged to Lily couldn't help but see her in a different light. Serena was the a famed Sailor Scout that had been spotted for four years while fighting against various unknown evils.

"Lily," Serena looked back and forth between Lily and Brian while trying to judge just how they had handled the news that Kyle and Wendy had obviously just given both of them. "I...uh..." Serena briefly flashed to being four or five years younger and standing in front of her own parents while waiting to be punished for one misdeed or another.

The five adults all suffered through an awkward silence for several minutes before Brian was the first to speak up. "It would seem that you continually surprise us," Serena swallowed hard while exchanging a glance with Kyle. Kyle gave her a slight smile of reassurance. Despite the fact that he had taken his parents off guard with the news of his and Serena's alter egos he knew that neither of his parents were prone to over-reacting.

"Brian... Lily..." Serena directed her gaze back to Kyle's parents. "I just want you to know that I never intended to involve Kyle or any of you in any of this. When I left Tokyo a year ago I never planned to become Sailor Moon again..."

"What?" Lily asked in confusion. "I don't understand. Why?"

Serena bit her lip in response to the question. She had tried to skirt her reasons for leaving Tokyo as much as she could when ever she had been asked about the particulars of her departure from her life here with her friends and family. A departure that she had once thought would be permanent. "That's a little complicated."

/

Luna jumped down from the high brick wall around the temple and began to stroll toward the living areas of the Shinto shrine. It had been a couple of days since she had come to the grounds but now that Kyle and Serena were back at the hotel the feline thought that it would be safe to once again roam the area. Luna couldn't see why Artemis seemed so chummy with the canine that loved to torment her so. Personally Luna could do without the added aggravation of having him around. Anytime Brutus was around her fur would stand on end. Cats and dogs were not supposed to work together. Even on the moon the cats had their responsibilities and the dogs had theirs. Those responsibilities never crossed over into the other's territory.

Luna increased her speed just a bit and hurried toward Rei's room. She wanted to check on her charge since she had not seen her since Rei had invited Brutus to remain on the temple grounds while Kyle was in the hospital. As Luna neared Rei's room her ears twitched in warning only seconds before she skirted around the corner to the living area of the temple.

"Luna?"

"MEOW!" Luna screeched as she came face to face with the same canine that she had hoped to avoid seeing. "Don't DO that!" Luna panted. "You scared the life out of me."

"Fortunately you have nine of them," Brutus chuckled. "If you're looking for Rei she left to go run some errands for her grandfather."

"Oh," Luna peered around the room to check for herself if Rei was indeed gone. "That still doesn't explain why you had to..." Brutus continued laughing since he had to admit that he enjoyed seeing the black cat frazzled. "Would you STOP laughing you over-grown hyena?"

"I could if you didn't make this all so fun," Brutus remarked with a snicker. "Besides, it's not my fault that you are so timid. Artemis isn't afraid of me."

"Artemis is a foo..." Luna cut herself off as she heard the door to the adjoining room open. "Rei, I think that we need to talk..."

Rei's grandfather stood in the doorway glancing back and forth between the two animals with his mouth wide opened. After a second or two he then collapsed to the floor; rendered unconscious from the shock of coming across a dog and cat in a heated VERBAL battle with one another.

"Uh-oh," Brutus stepped closer to the short and portly man and sniffed at him. "Now what do we do?"

"WE? This is all your fault!"

"Luna, I'm not the one that was yelling loud enough for those all the way in town to hear," Brutus pointed out as he shook his head. The others were not going to like this. Not one bit.

/

Once Serena finished her story she leaned back on the couch with Kyle while she waited for his parents to process just what all she had told them. Even Wendy was thinking about all that she had been told since this was the first time that she'd heard Serena tell of her life as a Sailor Scout. After Kyle's disappearance earlier in the week it had been Serena's friends that had tried to explain everything to her. Serena herself had been so crushed (quite understandably really given the fact that she and Kyle were so in love) that she hadn't been able to force herself to talk to Wendy about the Scouts from her own perspective. Now that Serena had told as much as she felt comfortable discussing with the family for now Wendy eyed her parents to see how they would now react to all that both Serena and Kyle had told them.

"These Shadow Scouts," Brian started. "They are still out there, aren't they?" Here he was looking at his son that had been severely injured while going up against these people that he didn't fully understand. From the way that he understood it, most of them were still a danger to Kyle and the others. The only difference was, despite the fact that he doubted that his son would admit it right now, Kyle would now be utterly defenseless if he was attacked right now. There would not be much that a man with the injuries that his son had sustained could do from a chair. Brian didn't care if his son had been given special powers to fight now.

"Three of them are; yes," Serena nodded slightly and frowned at the reminder that Shadows Venus, Jupiter and Mercury had all gotten away when Shadow Moon was destroyed.

"But they are more than likely trapped within the Negaverse since they wouldn't have had access to any of the stronger doorways when the cave-in collapsed the weaker ones," Kyle added quickly to try to alleviate some of his parents' concerns.

"But you can't be sure," Brian pointed out to his son. "Or if they were you don't know how long it will take them to find a way out. They could have already of found a way out by now as far as you know."

Serena frowned since she didn't know if any of the others had thought of that yet. She'll admit that she'd been a little out of it over the last few days. Even if they had told her she likely wouldn't have remembered anyone discussing plans to see if the Shadows had survived the cave-in and battle.

"But its not likely," Kyle said as he thought back to the destruction of the throne room and the surrounding area as he and Darien made their own way out of the Negaverse.

"But what if they have escaped as well?" Lily asked from her place beside her husband. "Will they come looking for the two of you?" That was one thing that she wasn't sure that she could take.

"It's not going to happen, Mom," Kyle said a bit too quickly which caused both of his parents to start asking him just how he figured that he and Serena could expect to avoid another attack on them.

Meanwhile, Serena listened with half an ear as her own concerns for Kyle mirrored the ones that were now being voiced by the others in the room. She, too, was worried about what would happen to Kyle if the Shadow Scouts attacked while he was still so hurt. Serena then remembered that when she was not in Tokyo, when she was back in the mountain retreat that had become her home, the Shadows had never been able to find her. There she had been safe. If Kyle was to remain safe during his long healing process then he needed to get away from Tokyo.

"Kyle," Serena spoke up softly. "I think that your parents are right to be concerned." Kyle looked next to him in surprise. Here he was trying to make it where his parents wouldn't worry about him and she goes and says that they SHOULD be worried. "At least while you're here in Tokyo. You were planning to head back home for class in another week or so anyway so; maybe we should push that up a bit. You'll be safe once you leave town so I think that you should go as soon as possible."

"Wait a minute!" Kyle shifted on the couch to turn to look at Serena beside him. "We were both planning to head back TOGETHER once the Shadows were taken care of."

"That was before you got hurt." Serena pointed out. "Now that you are; you have to admit that if they wanted to go after you again that you'll be a sitting duck."

"Serena," Kyle said in a bit of a shock. Was she saying that he was a hindrance to the Scouts if he stay remained in the city.

"I know, but it makes sense. Plus I think that your folks should leave Tokyo, too. We don't know what the Shadows might do but they've already shown that they aren't above using our families against us," Serena insisted. Serena took on a determined look on her face that spoke of the fact that she was about to dig her heels in on the subject of Kyle's leaving Tokyo. Regardless of whether or not Kyle wanted to leave Serena behind to face off with the remaining Shadows without him.

/

Brutus exchanged a look with the feline and sighed. "Maybe we can just convince him that he was hallucinating."

"And just HOW do you propose that we do that?" Luna asked with a huff.

"Well for one, when he comes to, don't talk anymore," Brutus nearly growled in frustration. "That is if you think that you could manage that."

Luna huffed with indignation, "It's too late to act like we can't talk. Rei's grandfather heard us."

"You mean he heard YOU, Luna. And do you have a better idea for right now? Perhaps you'd like to try to explain all of this to him then."

"Well maybe I do. After all, between the two of us I am the one that has had any type of real diplomatic training," Luna's tail twitched as she saw that the dog didn't seem all that impressed. Of course he didn't. Dogs were only used when brute strength was needed. Cats were for when finesse is required.

"What ever you plan to do, you'd better figure it out fast," Brutus said quietly. "He's starting to wake up."

/

Kyle ground his teeth as his parents and his sister all headed out to make plans to leave Tokyo under various guises. Wendy would be leaving to work in their Yokohama office while his parents would be heading back to the mountain retreat town. That way they would know that he would be taken care of while he was still injured. Kyle figured that he could expect an awful lot of attention from his mother for quite some time.

Once Kyle and Serena were once again alone, he folded his arms across his chest and couldn't help but glare at his fiancée as she turned back to him after she closed the door behind his family. "Serena, I'm not heading home and leaving you behind."

"Yes, you are," Serena replied with her hands on her hips. "You can't fight anymore and if you stay here in Tokyo I'm not going to be able to focus on the Shadows. I'll be too afraid to let you out of my sight."

"But you wouldn't mind me being a few hours away, instead?" Kyle couldn't believe that he was back to being considered a handicap to Serena and the other Scouts. Before it had been because he had no powers of his own to help with a fight against the Shadow Scouts. Now it was because he was hurt and wasn't considered capable of defending himself if he was attacked. He hated feeling like he was being dismissed, for any reason. He hadn't liked it when the other Scouts had done so and he had to admit that a not so little part of him resented Serena doing it now.

"What I wouldn't mind would be knowing that you were somewhere that I know that the Shadow Scouts can't find you," Serena pointed out.

"But they'll be able to find YOU just fine," Kyle came back just a bit irritated. Had she forgotten that it was HER crystal that the Shadows were so interested in? "And with you here all alone they could easily take you by surprise."

"So I won't be here all alone," Serena shrugged. She wasn't stupid. She knew that she couldn't keep staying in the same hotel room that she'd been attacked in already. "I'll stay with Lita or Rei."

Kyle frowned since he wasn't sure that he liked the idea of Serena staying with the same friends that had driven her away from the city last year and he knew for certain that he didn't care for the prospect of leaving Serena behind while he was tucked away all nice and SAFE. "You know, I could still stay in town. As long as you plan to leave the hotel, we could both just go to another one together."

"It's still too dangerous," Serena shook her head. "And I'm not going to let you put yourself in danger when you can even fight."


	62. Making Compromises

Rei's grandfather slowly began to come to and was confused as to why he was on the floor of Rei's room. As he began to remember coming into the room the old man's eyes darted to the dog and cat in the room. The German Shepard looked lazily up from his place on the mat that had been set out for him while the cat was up on the table and looked a little annoyed at the canine that was resting nearby.

"You...You were talking when I came in. Weren't you?"

Brutus gave Luna one last look in hopes that she'd change her mind. After all, it wasn't their place to share Rei's secret with her grandfather. Unfortunately, Brutus saw that Luna's expression still clearly showed that she fully intended on taking it upon herself to inform the Shinto Priest that his granddaughter was the Scout of Fire and had been for more than three years now. Tucking his head down under his paws, Brutus braced himself as Luna cleared her throat to answer the portly man.

"As a matter of fact," Luna said boldly. "We were."

Grandpa then bounced his gaze once more back and forth between the two animals then seemed to come to a conclusion in his own mind. The dog and cat must be Kamis, spirits. But why would they be here? The cat had been around for more than three years off and on and he knew that it was frequently seen with his granddaughter. The dog was a more recent sight around the shrine.

"Are you a bakeneko?" The priest asked the cat on the table. Brutus snickered on the floor as he heard the question.

Luna scowled back at the canine before returning her gaze to the old man. A bakeneko? Could she possibly pass herself off as one instead of being forthright about what she really is? "Not in the manner that you are probably thinking." Luna confessed. "Though I wouldn't mind being considered a Maneki Neko."

"And you?" Grandpa asked Brutus, "Are you a Tengu?"

"What makes you think that I'm not a Inugami?" Brutus replied. He couldn't believe that Luna was actually going to try to pass them off as ancient animal spirits...Although, maybe there could be a hint of truth in it considering that they were the embodiment of animals that lived a thousand years ago. That was ancient enough.

"I assume that if you were a Inugami that you would have killed me when I first came in here."

Brutus bobbed his head, "Point taken."

"Why are you here?" Came the next question. "Why here at this temple?"

Brutus eyed the cat, if she was going to insist on talking to the man then she could come up with an explanation for the two of them. Luna lifted her head up in arrogance in response to the look that she was given by the dog. "Well actually, we were …"

"LUNA!" Rei walked into her room to find her grandfather talking with Luna; what was more, the cat was talking back. "What do you think that you are doing?"

Luna snapped her head back to the doorway and saw the dark-haired beauty glaring at both her and Brutus. "Well, I was about to explain why your grandfather over-heard the two of us talking."

"Rei? You knew that they can talk?" The old man asked in confusion. If his granddaughter knew that they had animals such as these roaming the grounds why hadn't she said something to him about it?

Rei bit the inside of her cheek as she glanced his way. Well, considering all that had gone on lately with Serena's own family she supposed that this was bound to come up. Still, Rei would have preferred to have been the one to choose the right moment. "We should sit down. This might take a while."

bakeneko (transforming/shapeshifting cat)

Tengu (heavenly Dog)

Inugami (Dog God- Demonic)

MANEKI NEKO (literally "beckoning cat") is one of the most common lucky charms in Japan*

*** I also tried to take the time to understand how a shinto priest might view talking animals before writing the previous section so as to make Grandpa's reaction to match his position in the story. I hope that no one is disappointed with the section. If they are, they are welcomed to take the story idea and tweak what they would like. :D ****

/

Serena closed the door to the bedroom with a slam. She couldn't figure out why Kyle was being so obstinate about all of this. It's really simple wasn't it? Kyle was hurt, he needed to be out of the way so that the Shadows couldn't hurt him further until he was healed up. But could Kyle accept that? NO! He even had to try to transform in the hopes that his powers would have a kind of a healing affect on him; much in the same way that her crystal could help speed her own recovery when she was injured. Well, it hadn't worked. When it didn't, Serena had thought that would have been the end of Kyle's insistence that he wasn't leaving Tokyo while she was still there. Fat chance of that.

A part of Serena had briefly considered leaving just so that Kyle would but she knew that she wouldn't feel right leaving the others to fight with the remaining Shadows. Still, Kyle had a point when he had spoken with his parents. Neither she nor anyone else even knew if the three remaining Shadows had survived the last attack in Queen Beryl's throne room. Serena could very well stick around Tokyo and wait for an attack that would never come.

Wondering what she should do, Serena picked up her phone and instinctively called Molly. She needed a friend to talk to and one that would be impartial about the whole thing. She knew that the other Scouts all wanted her to come back to Tokyo for good; so of course if she went and asked them about her situation they would tell her to stay and wait to fight. Serena knew that Molly would like for her to be close by too but her friend would want her to be happy first and foremost.

As Serena laid out just what had happened in the last day Molly listened without interrupting and waited until Serena had finished to speak up. "Well, I can see why you are so concerned about him but I can kind of see why he wouldn't want to leave you behind too," Molly said.

"Huh?"

"Didn't you tell me that the moment that he learned that you were going to have to start fighting again that he tried to help you out with training you to fight in different styles and all?"

"Well... yes...but," Serena eyed her phone as if she could see her friend's face and read what she was trying to say.

"And that was before he could become the Crescent Moon Knight, right?" Molly pointed out. "That was back before he really understood just what you being Sailor Moon really meant. Now he does and that can't make it easy on him knowing that if you were attacked right now that there wouldn't be anything that he could do to stop it."

"True but shouldn't that make it where he could understand why I don't want him around to get hurt too?"

"If it was the opposite way around, would you head back home and leave him to fight?" Molly could almost feel the dirty look that Serena gave the phone in response to the question. "I didn't think so. And just think, HE doesn't have an ex-girlfriend in town that he'd be left alone to fight along-side of if you were to leave town."

"Wait a minute! You think that this goes back to DARIEN?" Serena squealed into the phone.

"I didn't say that for sure, but it would seem to make sense if it was the reason. Or at least one of them., Molly replied. "Couldn't you go back with the condition that you would return to Tokyo alone if the Shadows show back up? That way you could meet in the middle some-what."

Serena sat and considered what Molly was suggesting as she continued to talk. By the time that she and Molly finished their conversation Serena was beginning to feel a little embarrassed of the fact that she hadn't sat down and tried to see things from Kyle's point of view. All she had been able to see was the fact that he was hurt and she didn't want him to be in anymore danger than he had already been put in. Of course Kyle would be just as concerned for her and he was still likely to feel a little insecure about the fact that it had been Darien of all people that had gone to his rescue after the last battle. After hanging up, Serena headed back to the living room where Kyle was still sitting on the couch; just as he had been when she had stormed off into the bedroom. Serena softly padded over to the couch and sat down next to Kyle. She could still see the stubborn set in his jaw which for some odd reason she found a little funny.

Stifling a giggle, Serena leaned against her fiancé and spoke up, "I'll let the others know to call me if they need me."

Kyle looked down at Serena as she snuggled up beside of him a bit surprised. "Does this mean that you aren't staying here in Tokyo?"

"For now," Serena conceded. "If the Shadows show back up then I'll come back; alone. Until then..." Serena eyed Kyle with a mischievous grin, "I guess now would be as good a time as any to start putting together our wedding plans. And this way you can't exactly run away when you've gotten your fill of all of the planning."

"So your plan is to make me wish that you'd stayed behind, is it?" Kyle had grin back at Serena since her smiles were always contagious.

"You've brought it upon yourself, Buster," Serena giggled. "We can head back just as soon as Mrs. Emerson gives me my final exam."

/

Rei stared at her grandfather and wonder what he would say now that she had finally told him that she was Sailor Mars. Right now he was sitting quite baffled and looking back and forth between Rei and the animals with an opened mouth. In the mean-time, Rei knelt next to the low table in her room and prayed that her grandfather wouldn't react badly to the truth of all that she had hidden from him in the last few years. Next to her on the floor was the cat that had spoken at the wrong moment which had spilled the beans about the fact that both Luna and Brutus could speak.

On the other side of Rei was Artemis (he had come in halfway through Rei's explanation to her grandfather). Both Artemis and Brutus seemed to be exchanging looks with one another and would glance at Luna from time to time while the four companions all awaited the pudgy priest's response to the news of his granddaughter's past life and how it was even now affecting her current one. Finally, Rei saw her grandfather begin to grin as he began to bounce slightly in place.

"I can't believe that I've never noticed it before," The old man said enthusiastically. "So that is why so many creatures have always been attracted to this temple? Why you have always been one to go off in the middle of the night for the last few years?"

"I'm afraid so," Rei nodded. And here she had thought that she had done a good job of sneaking out without her grandfather noticing in the last few years. "Um...Are you going to be alright with knowing about all of this? You have to know that you can't let anyone know about this..."

"Why wouldn't you want anyone to know that you are a Sailor Scout?" The priest asked. "I'd think that you'd be proud of being a Scout. I know that I'd be proud to tell everyo..."

"It's not that I'm not proud. It's just that it wouldn't be safe for a lot of people to know."

"Why not?"

"Well, say that I have to get to the other-side of the Jubian district to fight the Shadows; if everyone knew about all of us Scouts then folks might would get in the way of us getting to where we need to go. That or they could get caught in the cross-fire if they decide that they want to watch the Sailor Scouts fight," Rei pointed out.

"I see... I guess that makes sense," The elder Hino said after some thought. "But it would feel good to go and brag to the other Shinto priests in the area that MY granddaughter is Sailor Mars." Grandpa puffed himself up a bit while he was still beaming. He then turned back toward the animals, "Now how about you tell me just how these two cats and the dog fits in with all of this?"

"Each of them lived on the Moon a thousand years ago; just as each of the Scouts' did in our past lives." Rei then went on to give her grandfather a full explanation of the Moon Kingdom, the Guardians that protected the Royal family as well as the final fall of the Silver Millennium. During the telling her grandfather sat completely hypnotized as the young priestess went over every detail about the last few years since learning of the powers that she possessed. She would also answer each and every question that her grandfather would ask. Questions that Rei had been expecting for more than three years.

/

Days later, Serena chewed on the end of her pencil as she tried to concentrate on her final exam. If she passed then she would have her senior year completely behind her. With that done, both she and Kyle will be leaving to head back to their home back up in the mountains. She would then remain there to start planning her and Kyle's wedding; provided of course that the Shadows didn't attack Tokyo again. If they did then she would be right back here in the city to fight them along-side the other Scouts. Serena hoped that Kyle had been right about the possibility about the Shadows being defeated back in the Negaverse but Serena kept getting a nagging feeling that she would turn around and find one of the Shadows watching her. She would have felt better if she had known the outcome of the Shadow Scouts. Serena just couldn't get the fact that there was no way to really know what had happened to the Shadows out of her mind.

Hearing the timer go off, Serena looked up in surprise as she realized that her time was up. Sighing, Serena noticed that she hadn't even started the last three questions. Biting her lip she handed her test to Mrs. Emerson with her eyes downcast. She could only hope that she had done well enough on all of the other questions to make up for the ones that she hadn't completed.

"Relax, Serena," The older woman told her student. "I'm sure that you did fine."

"We'll see," Serena said reluctantly. The truth was, Serena could barely remember a single question that she'd just answered. She then watched as her teacher left with the unfinished paper in her briefcase. Turning back to the rest of the hotel room, Serena said a silent prayer that she had passed her test.

/

Jadeite scowled. He didn't really trust his new allies but at least they seemed some what useful to have around. The one that called herself Shadow Jupiter seemed to have taken on her role as his second in command quite well. She was by far the more aggressive of the Shadow Scouts. Shadow Mercury, however was increasingly annoying with all of her second guessing of each and every single one of his plans. Shadow Venus was the more diplomatic of the three female warriors. For Jadeite, that could be just as annoying as the constant second guessing of Mercury. She could be just as irritating as having Zoisite here all over again. He even swore that he could see that she received some sort of wicked pleasure in annoying him. Each time that Mercury or any of the other Shadows contradicted him on a plan to gather energy Jadeite would force himself to grit his teeth. He could suffer through for a bit for the time being but the moment that he had enough energy stored up he would see to it that these girls gave him the proper respect owed to a General of the Negaverse. After all, the Shadows were only in this dimension because they needed Sailor Moon's crystal to defeat the Generals of their own homeland. That meant that regardless of which dimension, the Generals must always be stronger than the Scouts themselves. At least the way that Jadeite saw it.

"General?" A youma approached Jadeite and tore him from his thoughts. Jadeite noted that the youmas had all gained stability from the meager amounts of energy that had already been collected from the various small attacks that had been launched on the outlining towns of Tokyo. It hadn't been much but it had been enough to bring order to the small army of youmas.

"Yes," Jadeite eyed the creature. "What is it?"

"You wished to be told when the Shadows left out from the Negaverse for Earth."

"All of them?"

"Yes, they seemed to be anxious to put their plans into motion to prove that their methods can be just as effective as your own." The youmas always have been good at flattering their bosses.

"Right, I'm sure that they are QUITE capable," Jadeite snickered. "If it wasn't for me they would still be trapped in the ruined levels of the Negaverse. They couldn't even figure out how to use the doorways out that would lead to Tokyo; or anywhere else." Jadeite shook his head. "Keep an eye on them and keep me informed. That is all." He dismissed the youma and turned back to his own plans that he had laid out on the table behind him. Jadeite had plans on how to gain more energy; plans that should go undetected by the Sailor Scouts. He only hoped that the Shadows didn't do anything to attract any undue attention before he was ready for Sailor Scouts.


	63. Setting the Date

Serena flipped the calendar and scanned through the various dates as she tried to find one that would be the perfect date for her and Kyle to get married. So far Serena couldn't narrow down her choices since for every date that she'd decide on she would quickly remind herself of one event or another that would take precedence over her desire to wed. She didn't want to over-shadow any of the other Scouts birthdays or important dates. For instance, the first date that she had considered had turned out to be the anniversary of Lita's parents' death. So that date was definitely out. She didn't want Lita to force herself to paint on a smile on a day that Serena knew would be difficult. From there Serena then tried to also not choose a date that would have a special significance in Shintoism since Rei would be needed at the Temple on those days.

"Let's see," Serena started to chew on her pencil's eraser. "The resort opens that weekend and everything would be busy out there for the whole season so winter as a whole is pretty much out... Not to mention Kyle's classes won't be over until the spring is underway..."

Kyle looked up from where he was studying for his business class and watched as his fiancée rack her brain for the perfect wedding date. From what he could tell she wasn't having much luck, either. Every time that Serena came up with a date she'd remember a reason why they couldn't get married on that weekend.

"You know, you keep doing that and I just might get the impression that you don't want to get married after all," Kyle teased as he pushed his wheelchair away from the table that he'd spread his books out on. Kyle hated to still be regulated to using the wheel chair but the doctor had been one to point out that even if his arm was healing up rather nicely that didn't mean that it could take on the added task of supporting him while he tried to use crutches to get around while his leg was still healing as well. At least he could console himself with the fact that he was healing much faster than the doctors in Tokyo has told him to expect. Kyle wondered if his powers granted by Queen Serenity had anything to do with that fact.

The couple had returned to their apartment in the mountain retreat just before Kyle's fall classes began right after Serena had completed the last of the requirements to finish her senior year. Thankfully, there had yet to be any reports of any of the Shadows attacking in Tokyo which Kyle had taken as a sign that they hadn't survived the collapse of the Throne Room in the Negaverse. He knew that Serena was still reluctant to believe their good fortune but Kyle figured that she'd been conditioned to constantly wait for the next shoe to drop through years of fighting against the various evils that she'd gone up against since she'd first taken on the mantle of being Sailor Moon.

"It's not like that and you know it," Serena said as she dropped the calendar and pencil where she'd been sitting and moved over to sit next to Kyle at the table before putting her head in her hands as she rested her elbows on the table. She'd allowed her hair to return to its original shade of blonde but she continued to wear it loose around her and kept it just going down between her shoulder blades. In essence, her hair represented a compromise between her original desire to leave her life as Sailor Moon behind when she'd gone red and her resignation of the fact that Sailor Moon was still a very big part of her life. Whether she liked it or not. "I never knew that just choosing a date could be so hard."

"It sounds like you are trying to factor in everybody else's schedule in to the deciding," Kyle placed a finger under Serena's chin and lifted her face up to greet his. "You do know that you're allowed to make others work around YOU on our wedding day don't you? The other's would understand if they need to reschedule something or if the date reminds them of some other event; not to mention that the resort could go on without us if we choose to get married in the middle of the ski season. Or any of the other millions of things that you keep trying to work around."

"I just don't want inconvenience anyone else just so that they can see me get married..."

"Serena, you're the bride. You're entitled to a few inconveniences," Kyle chuckled. "Now come on, close your eyes."

"What for?"

"I'm going to help you pick out a date, that's what for." Serena looked skeptically at the other blonde but lost sight of him as the man lowered her lids and then took her hand. "Let's start with a season. When ever you picture our wedding, do you see it snowing outside or are we out on a sandy beach instead? Or are the cherry blossoms in full bloom instead?"

Serena bit her lip as she tried to picture her wedding day to Kyle. Sure she had spent years picturing her wedding day but that had been with a different groom in the picture. How did she see her and Kyle getting married? "I'm not sure..."

"Alright, try to picture the dress that you want to get. Should it have long or short sleeves?"

"Umm...Long. The kind that taper at the end so they just cover the back of my hands."

"Then I think that we can rule out a summer wedding," Kyle smiled as he could tell that Serena was getting a full image of the dress that she wanted to wear as she walked down the aisle.

"I suppose so. I wouldn't want to melt on my wedding day and end up with heatstroke," Serena giggled. "Alright, so no summer months. Now what?"

"You're the one that's picturing the wedding the way that you want it. What kind of flowers do you want at the wedding?"

Serena concentrated on the image in front of her and tried to see what flowers were in the vision of her and Kyle's wedding. She would have never of thought to sit like this to try to narrow down the date for the wedding. She would have picked the date then tried to narrow down the decisions for the flowers and such. Doing the planning in this manner seemed a bit backwards to her just now.

/

Back in Tokyo, Rei had just finished another fire reading. In the time since the last battle with the Shadow Scouts she just couldn't shake the feeling that she had yet to see the last of the Scouts from another dimension. The fact that they not attacked in Tokyo again worried her and she just couldn't put her finger on why that was. Rei felt as if there was something that she should be able to sense just on the outside of her consciousness. She couldn't prove it but she just knew that they had yet to see that last of the Shadow Scouts.

Rei rose from her kneeling position in front of the fire and turned to look out of the doors to the rest of the temple grounds. Looking out she caught sight of her pet crows as they screeched over-head. They too seemed to know that there was something wrong as well. Rei lowered her eyes and wondered just how long it would be before the Shadows regrouped and attacked once more.

/

Darien walked down the sidewalk towards the arcade where his best friend worked. He, too, had reservations about the strange disappearance of the Shadows. He'd considered heading back into the Negaverse to take a look around but thought better of it since he knew that it wouldn't be prudent to do so alone and he wasn't about to risk any of the others by going back into the heart of their opponents' lair without a good reason. Instead he was doing the same as the rest; waiting and watching for their next move.

So lost in his own thoughts that Darien barely realized when he came up on another individual on the street. When he looked up he saw that he'd nearly ran right over Kyle's sister, Wendy.

"Oh… Wendy, isn't it?" Darien said as he came up short.

He was surprised to see the blond since the last that he knew all of Kyle's family had left out of Tokyo around the same time that Serena and Kyle had left out. They had left as a precaution after Wendy had been captured by the Shadows just before the last battle with the other Scouts.

"That's right," Wendy smiled at the handsome dark haired man.

"I wasn't expecting to see you here in town again so soon."

"Well, I was getting bored back up in the mountains and decided to head back. I had work that needed to be done and it couldn't really be done if I wasn't here at the corporate office."

Darien frown slightly, "Do you really think that's safe? We still don't know what the Shadows plan next."

"That is if they are even still around," Wendy said with a slight roll to her eyes. Her brother had expressed the same concerns for her when she had left home and returned to Tokyo. "As far as any of us know they have all returned to their own homes."

"They haven't," Darien said confidently as he began to walk along side the woman that he only knew as a passing acquaintance.

"How do you know?"

"Simple, evil like the Shadows never give up that easily," Darien replied with a shake of his head.

"Speaking from experience?"

"You could say that," Darien nodded. "Not to mention the girls would never give up that easily neither. If the Shadows really are mirror images of the Sailor Scouts then I have to believe that they'd react much in the same way as our Scouts would if Sailor Moon was… defeated."

"Defeated," Wendy repeated. Well that was a nice way to put it. "But the Shadows aren't like the Scouts, are they?"

"In a sense but in another sense they still are. It's like seeing how they would have turned out had they matured in a completely different environment. But somewhere in there, the Scouts that we know have to be apart of them in some way. That means that we can expect some sort of retaliation as soon as they've decided just how to do just that."

Wendy watched as she saw Darien's expression grow very grim. Briefly she wondered if what all was going through the man's mind. After all, he knew the Scouts far better than she did. That included her soon to be sister-in-law.

"If that's true, then why do you suppose that they've waited so long to act? I mean, it's been weeks since they were last heard from," Wendy asked as she continued to walk along side of Darien.

"I don't know. It could be that they are just bidding their time."

"For what?"

"That's what I'm concerned about," Darien glanced next to him and paused in his thinking. "All things considered, I don't think that it's all that safe for you to be back in the city again. After all, they've already taken you hostage once."

Wendy had to smile at the fact that Darien seemed most comfortable in the role of protecting others. "Well, I prefer to keep working rather than waiting for the other shoe to drop."

Darien chuckled, "Somehow I thought that you were going to say that." Something told him that he was going to have to keep a watch on Wendy Garret.

/

Shadow Jupiter watched as Mercury measured the latest batch of energy that the youma had brought from their last foray to Earth. "Well, do we have enough yet or not?"

"No, but it shouldn't be too much longer," Shadow Mercury said as she finished her scan. "I suppose that we should tell Jadeite that his youmas are collecting their energy a bit slower than he had anticipated."

"I'll let you handle that," Shadow Venus said from her place across the stone room. "That guy gives me the creeps. He looks too much like the Jadeite from our dimension. I can't make myself trust him."

"Neither can I. Mercury, have you been able to figure out a way for us to use all of this energy that's been stored up against the Sailor Scouts?"

"I think so but we need a bit more before we can risk going up against the Scouts just yet. They out number us which means we need to be careful."

"Then we'll just have to make sure that when we use the energy that we won't be out-numbered," Shadow Jupiter said while considering her options.


	64. Luck Shining Down

"It's been MONTHS Jadeite! We are tire of waiting for you!" Shadow Jupiter groused as she stormed into the cavern that had become the base of operations after the Throne Room was destroyed. "It's time to ACT!"

Jadeite turned slowly from where he had been speaking with a youma. He let out a patronizing smile which he knew that his unlikely allies hated. "I see you still haven't learned how to be patient, Jupiter."

"I think that I've been MORE than patient. You said that you knew how to help us get Sailor Moon's crystal so that we could go home and help those that we'd left behind. Now, when are you going to show us results? You've been sending out the youmas to bring back energy but you haven't shared how you are using that energy."

"I wasn't aware that I had to report to you," Jadeite snickered. "But, since you are here, I think that you'd be happy to know that I think that we're ready to make a strike against one of the Scouts."

"ONE of the Scouts? With all of the energy that you've been collecting?" Shadow Jupiter blanched at the slow progress of the man that had remained encapsulated within the ice shard for more than four years. She only wished that the blasted thing hadn't malfunctioned and allowed him to escape his prison.

"One Scout is all that we need to attack, Jupiter. Fighting all of the Scouts is a foolish mission. The wisest course of action is to only attack when our numbers are to our advantage. We will attack only one," Jadeite smirked. "One Scout has been separated from the other Scouts and will be easy pickings. And that one Scout is Sailor Moon."

/

Kyle stood back and watched as Serena ran back and forth between the various employees to ensure that everything would go just as planned. He had only been up and walking around for a few days and wouldn't admit that after such a long time in a wheelchair that he wasn't as sure on his feet as he'd like for everyone to believe. He figured that most people wouldn't notice the tell-tale indications that he'd sometimes give when his muscles protested the strain of standing after being crippled for the last couple of months. Somehow though, Serena could always tell.

It was less than a week before the ski season would begin which meant it was crunch time for the resort that his family had first started their business empire with. This kick off for the season had been Serena's suggestion so it had been decided to allow her to be as involved with it as she wanted to be. That had been something that had slightly surprised Kyle since he had never seen his mother hand over the reigns for this weekend to anyone in the past; not even to Wendy. Now watching Serena, Kyle could see a huge difference in the woman that he would be marrying in a few weeks from the one that had come into town nearly a year ago. Back then she was alone and unsure of herself. It had only been after learning of her trials as Sailor Moon that he fully understood just why that had been. Kyle then saw another employee walk up the Serena and deliver some sort of a message that from what he could tell couldn't have been good news. From across the large amphitheater he could hear his fiancée.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY'RE NOT COMING? WE'VE GOTTEN EVERYTHING ELSE ALL PLANNED! HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO REPLACE THEM NOW!"

Fighting back a chuckle, Kyle figured that he'd better go see just what had happened to upset Serena so since it was clearly about to send her into a state of panic. As he approached he realized that one of the local bands that had been hired to play during the week leading up to the main concert on the weekend of the ski weekend kickoff had decided to not show up after all. He could see that the sudden change was about to throw Serena into a full panic. Her first try at getting together a major event for the beginning of the ski weekend and there was already a fly in the ointment.

"Relax, Serena. That was just a small band. We'll just find another one to take their place."

Serena turned to find that Kyle had joined her in the amphitheater. "How can I relax? We have less than a week to find a new band for the second night of the kick-off."

"Or we can try to plan something else for that night. Either way, we'll figure something out," Kyle said with a grin. "Come on, I think it's time that you stopped for some lunch."

"How can you think about food right now?"

"Simple, I'm hungry. It's after one o'clock. Let's grab a bite and try to come up with something while we eat."

Off to the side within the shadows, Shadow Venus and Shadow Jupiter watched on as Sailor Moon headed out of the large complex with her fiancé. "She doesn't look so alone to me. I thought Jadeite said that the newbie was still injured from the last fight. He looks fine to me."

"And you thought that he'd be right because..." Shadow Jupiter snickered in response to Venus's observation.

"You're right," Shadow Venus shook her head. "Trusting him to get even that much right was foolish. At least none of the other Scouts are here though."

"Which means all we have to do is try to separate Sailor Moon and this Crescent Moon Knight. Once we have her alone she won't have a chance." Shadow Jupiter crossed her arms as she leaned back against the wall of the amphitheater. "From there, we'll have her crystal and be on our way home before the other Scouts will even know what happened."

"Well, we should head back and let our temporary self-appointed leader and let him know that he can put the plan into motion," Venus said as she turned to open a portal to the Negaverse.

"Agreed. Then we'll see if Shadow Mercury has figured out a way to get us out from under that parasite's thumb." Jupiter clenched her fist as she followed her fellow Shadow Scout through the portal. "The sooner the better."

/

By the end of lunch Kyle had nearly gotten Serena calmed down from the sudden cancelation of one of the bands that had been hired to play during the week long festivities that were planned during the grand opening of the ski season when she received a call on her phone.

"Wow, that's great news! But how did they already know that we needed another band?"

Kyle leaned back in his chair as Serena continued with her phone call and smiled. He mouthed the words I told you not to worry. It sounded as if his mother had already gotten someone to replace the band that had bailed on them here in the final days leading up to the beginning to the ski weekend. It had been Serena's idea to help lore a younger crowd to the resort to bring more revenue to the small town. An idea that had been well received by his parents and had allowed Serena to run with it. Still, with this being her first dealing with anything like it on this scale she seemed to float back and forth between being confident in her plan and panicking anytime a roadblock was set up in her way. Kyle wondered if this was a glimpse of how things might go as it got closer to the wedding day now that they finally had a date picked out and plans were beginning to get underway. If so then he hoped that there won't be too many surprises thrown Serena's way.

When Serena finished her conversation on the cell phone she turned to Kyle smiling brightly. "That was your mother. We have another band!"

"So I heard," Kyle said while returning Serena's smile. "Now you won't have to spend the next week in a complete panic."

"Good, I have too much to do this week to panic," Serena giggled nervously.

"Then don't," Kyle said easily. "Everything will work out just fine. So, did my mother say how this other band found out that we needed another one?"

"They claimed that they are friends with the other one that had to cancel because their singer had gotten sick. Looks like luck's in our favor after all," Serena could nearly feel a sigh of relief on her lips. She really didn't really know what she would have done had a new band hadn't fallen right in her lap.

"We'll have to remember to thank them for sending their friends our way," Kyle chuckled. "Now what do you say we get some dessert to celebrate." Kyle found the look that Serena gave him amusing. He knew that she had for some strange reason been trying to give up on sweets. She seemed to feel like she needed to go on a diet before the wedding. A ridiculous notion to him. Why do women always seem to feel the need to starve themselves before a big event?

"That is not funny."

"Who said that I was trying to be funny? Well, if we're not going to have some dessert then I guess we'd better be getting back. I doubt that you'd actually feel comfortable staying away from the action for much longer anyway."

Serena bit her lip and shook her head. He was finding her nervousness just a bit too funny. Though to be honest, if she really thought about everything, this new side of herself was a bit different compared to the Serena that she had been a little over a year ago. Back then no one thought that she could manage her own responsibilities, much less the new ones that she had taken on in recent months.

/

"Your Highness," Kunzite began as he approached his Queen. "There has been a power increase registered in the parallel universe. There's reason to believe that it could be the remaining Shadows. They could be preparing for another attack to gain the Imperium Silver Moon Crystal of that dimension."

Queen Beryl's brows creased in response to her General's information, "And if they succeed they will then be able to come back here and cause substantial damage."

"I don't think that it needs to be reiterated; that can not be allowed to happen."

"Kunzite, I want you to contact the Scouts of that dimension and inform them of what you have found. We all have a common goal and I believe that they might will be amenable to your assistance. I doubt that they want the Shadows to gain their crystal anymore than we do."

"Of course, Your Majesty. I'll head there immediately."

"Good. Keep me inform."

/

Mina looked around her room trying to see if she had everything that she needed for a ski vacation. She was so excited that she and the other Scouts were all heading up into the mountains. Now she was finally going to see the place that her friend had called home after leaving Tokyo a year ago. Mina still wished that Serena lived nearby but she could see why she had felt the need to leave. Well in a way. Still, she looked forward spending the next week skiing with her friends and seeing just what all Serena had planned for the big kick-off for the resort town's ski season.

Outside Mina could hear the other Scouts pulling up in Lita's SUV and knew that they were all ready for her to head out to join them. They were all riding up together and by the sound of the horn blowing outside the others were tired of waiting on her to check to make sure that she hadn't forgotten anything. Throwing up her hands, Mina spun around and went to reach for her bag so that she could head out to join the other Scouts for their winter wonderland vacation. With her bags under her arms Mina opened her bedroom door and took a step out of the room only to be stopped by the sound of her name being called to her from behind her in her bedroom. Or more precisely, someone was calling for Sailor Venus.


	65. Slipping into a New and Devious Plot

After lunch Serena had headed back to finish up at the amphitheater for the day. She made plans to meet up with the new band the next day so that she could get a feel for just what kind of band they were (not that it really mattered at this point since she was just glad to have one to replace the one that had cancelled on her). Once that was done for the day she went back to the apartment to get some training in with Kyle. True he was supposed to still take it easy for now but he could still help her stay in fighting form. A thought that had remained in the back of Serena's mind despite the optimism of her fiancé. She just couldn't believe that they had seen the last of the Shadow Scouts.

Kyle had asked her just what had been the longest between attacks that she and the other Scouts had faced whenever they had an enemy on the prowl. He then had pointed out that they had already gone longer without an attack than they had ever gone while having an active opponent. A fact that did seem to support his theory that the Shadows had not survived the destruction of the Throne Room in the Negaverse. Serena supposed that she was just looking for trouble when there was none. Still, with her wedding approaching it just seemed that it would be her luck to have the Shadows or some other new threat show up at her wedding. Most other brides only had to worry about friends and family that hadn't made the guest list to crash the wedding. She had to worry about nearly any and all sources of evil that wanted to do the same thing.

/

Mina turned at the sound of her name and instinctively backed up against her door before her mind kicked in and told her that this Kunzite was not the one that she and the Scouts had fought against years ago. This was their ally from the same realm that the Shadow Scouts had come from. Still, the closeness in resemblance was a bit unnerving.

"What are you doing here in my house?" Mina asked as she tried to force herself to relax.

"I need to speak with you and the other Scouts. I would have approached Sailor Moon but I could not find her anywhere in Tokyo," Kunzite said as he ignored the initial reaction that he saw come from the woman that, too, looked more familiar than he was comfortable with at times. "That has left me to come speak with you."

"What for?" Mina asked as she once more heard the horn blowing outside for her.

"We've been detecting a massive energy build up that would indicate that the Shadows are still active and planning another attack. Queen Beryl has felt that it would be prudent to warn you and the other Scouts of their possible intentions. After all, both of our worlds would be affected if they accomplish their mission here."

"An energy build up?" Mina asked as she set her bags down on the floor beside her. "Exactly what kind of build up?"

"It would appear that they have been using youmas to absorb and horde human energy," Kunzite replied coolly.

"But we haven't detected any attacks around Tokyo since our last encounter with them. Not to mention, that didn't seem to be their style. They would attack but mainly as a means to draw the rest of us out. What you're suggesting is..."

Behind Mina her bedroom door opened causing both Kunzite and herself to brace for a possible attack. Instead of an enemy, however, it was Rei who had barreled into her friend and fellow Sailor Scout's room.

"Mina, what's the deal? We've been wai..." Rei came up short once she noticed the reason for the blonde's delay. "What's he doing here?"

"It seems that we have a problem. We may have to put off our vacation for a little while," Mina said as she went over to the window to wave the other girls in. They might as well as all hear this at once.

/

Serena checked her watch to check the time and noticed that she was a little late for her appointment with the Event's coordinator. She supposed that being a little late wouldn't hurt much. Serena grabbed her purse and began to head out of Kyle's office in the resort town that Serena had commandeered in recent weeks while preparing for the season. As she walked out of the office building she pulled her thick winter's coat tighter to herself and began walking toward the car that Kyle had given to her shortly after returning to town after their time in Tokyo. Before Serena reached her car she got the distinct feeling that she was being watched.

Looking around, Serena shook her head as she mentally chastised herself for letting her imagination run wild. When she turned back to the car she nearly jumped out of her skin when she came face to face with Jadeite. She had to forcibly make herself not cry out in surprise. After all, she knew that this Jadeite was her ally from the other dimension. Still, there was a part of her sub-consciousness that looked on this Jadeite with a bit of skepticism.

"Jadeite, you nearly had me jumping out of my skin," Serena said as she forced herself to smile in her usual manner. "What are you doing here?"

"There is a problem," Jadeite said while looking around. "I'll explain but first we have to get you somewhere safe."

"Wait a minute, safe?" Serena glanced around to make sure that the two of them hadn't attracted any attention from anyone else on the street. "What about the others?"

"The other Generals have already located them. The other Scouts are already safe and your Tuxedo Mask and the Crescent Moon Knight are working along-side Kunzite and Zoisite trying to find the Shadows before it's too late. Now, we have to get you to safety as well."

Serena bit her lip as she glanced around nervously. She knew that she hadn't seen the last of the Shadows. She hadn't, however, figured on having to depend on the Generals from the other dimension for help. "Alright. Let's go."

/

"Have you reached her yet?" Rei asked Ami as she turned around in Lita's car and cocked her brow as she questioned the other Scout.

"No, Serena's not answering her communication device or her cell phone. I did reach Kyle, though. He's looking for her as well. I wish that we could just use our Sailor Teleport to get up to the mountains instead of having to drive up. It would be faster."

"Unfortunately, we can only use it when we are all together," Mina said worriedly. "Did Kyle say how long it had been since he'd last heard from Serena?"

"He said that she went back to work after they had lunch together. His mother saw her last about two hours ago. Since then no one has seen her," Ami didn't like telling the others that piece of news anymore than she had liked hearing it.

"A lot can happen in two hours," Lita huffed as she glanced in the rear-view mirror.

"I know," Ami admitted. "It's just a good thing that we were warned by Kunzite about the Shadows stock-piling energy. Otherwise it could have been a lot longer before we noticed that she was gone."

"But did we get the warning in time?" Rei asked as she looked out the window.

"Let's hope so," Mina really hoped so.

/

Serena looked around at the strange house that nearly resembled an old church. To Serena, it evoked both a sense of awe and an eerie feeling of something being completely wrong about being in this building.

"What is this place?" Serena asked as she looked around.

"It's a place that Nephrite in both dimensions use to meditate in. It's protected against other magic. The Shadows won't be able to detect your crystal here." Jadeite gave a reassuring smile to the young Moon Princess.

"Why would your Nephrite need a place like this in your world?"

"He has always preferred to live a solitary life," Jadeite crossed his arms as he leaned against the doorframe as he watched the woman that he knew to be the impetuous girl that became Sailor Moon years ago as she wandered around the room. "In both worlds."

"You said that the others are here. Where are they?" Serena asked since she would feel better about all of this if they were here with her.

"Your friend Rei is meditating with Nephrite. They are both trying to pin-point exactly where the Shadows are. The others should be around here somewhere," Jadeite said while waving a hand in a grand gesture towards the hallway off to his left. "By all means, you can feel free to roam the house as you wish. I wouldn't recommend leaving it though while the Shadows are preparing to attack. Meanwhile, I'll go check to see how the others are having any luck with finding out just what the Shadows have in mind."

"Alright," Serena could feel a chill go down her spine. Something just didn't feel right. She just couldn't put her finger on it. Serena then headed down the corridor that Jadeite had indicated. Three rooms down she found Mina, Ami and Lita all sitting around a fireplace in what looked like a very spacious den. "There you are. I was beginning to get a bit weirded out. I wish you guys had been the ones to come and let me know that the Shadows were back. Allies or not, it gives me the creeps working with the Generals."

"Trust us, it's not been any easier for us to work with Jadeite since learning of the most recent plot," Lita said with a sneer.

"So, any word from Kyle or Darien? Jadeite said that they were working with Kunzite and Zoisite."

"Just a while ago," Mina said with a nod as she shifted on the couch in front of the fireplace to make room for Serena. "Tuxedo Mask said that they were planning to search the Negaverse to see if they can locate the Shadows latest hiding place."

"And the power that they've been collecting," Lita added for her friend.

"I don't think I like the idea of the two of them off alone looking for the Shadows. We should be out with them," Serena sighed as she wondered how things were going for the two men that were among their ranks. "In fact, Kyle shouldn't be out yet at all. He's still healing from his last run in with the Shadows."

"They are not alone, Serena," Ami pointed out. "Two of the Generals are with them."

"True, but I'm not sure that makes me feel any better about it," Serena paced in front of the fireplace while thinking about everything that could go wrong while Kyle and Darien were off in the Negaverse. Even while in the company of those that claimed to be their allies.

/

Jadeite stepped back from the youma and smiled at his ingenuity. "You are sure that you understand the plan? You have to make Sailor Moon truly believe that you are her friend. With you there it will never even occur to her that the others can't be who they claim to be. She knows that Shadow Mars was returned to the other dimension so she'll just assume that you are the Rei that she knows."

"Of course I understand the plan. You've had me study Sailor Mars and her behavior even more than you have made the others study their own counterparts," The female youma that now looked like Rei Hino said in a huff. "Now can I go on in there and get this over with? The sooner that we get this started the sooner I can get back to looking like myself."

"Very well," Jadeite said as he stood back away from the youma to allow her to pass to the next room to join the Shadows and Sailor Moon. "Just don't stray from the plan."

/

Rei looked around the den warmed by the fire in the fireplace and allowed her gaze to fall on Serena. As Serena noticed that the Scout of Fire had joined the rest of them she stood and hurried over to her.

"Rei, Jadeite said that you and Nephrite were working together to try to figure out what the Shadows are up to. Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"You'd better sit down for this. You are not going to like what we have found out."

Serena looked back and forth between the three faces that now looked up at her as well as the only other Scout that was standing in the room. Sighing, she figured that she'd best take Mina's advice and take a seat. And here just a few hours ago her biggest worry was finding a new band to replace the ones that had cancelled on her.

"What did you learn?" Serena asked almost in surrender.

"The Shadows returned to their own dimension and were somehow able to defeat Queen Beryl and have replaced her with a youma look-alike. The Generals had suspected that there was something wrong with their Queen which is one of the reasons that they'd come back here for our help. They need us to help them defeat the Shadows now since they are now greatly out-matched."

"Out-matched? But there were just three of them left?"

"But now they have their own Imperium Silver Moon Crystal at their disposal," The youma disguised as Rei said. "Only your crystal can match it's power and free their people from the Shadows and their false Queen." Rei took Serena by the hands and looked forlornly into the leader of the Scouts' eyes. "They will need your help, Serena."


	66. Dark Moon Rising

Jadeite concentrated the energy that his youmas had been collecting since he was freed from his icy prison towards the naive young woman in the next room. He could feel the dark energy surrounding his enemy. Unbeknownst to the leader of the Sailor Scouts the energy was heightening her sense of justice and was causing her blood to boil at the thought of those that had powers that mimicked those of the Sailor Scouts; using those powers to seize the authority of the Queen of the parallel universe. In the room around the Moon Princess the Shadows and the lone youma in disguise watched as a dark aura surrounded Serena and began to seep into every pore of her body. Something that went unnoticed by her as she seemed to be in a trance while staring into the eyes of the woman that she believed was the Scout of Fire.

As the darkness completed its absorption into Serena, her eyes began to burn with resolve. As they did so Jadeite felt an evil smile cross his lips. Finally he could feel success within his grasp. His adversary's drive to defend the innocent will be her own undoing.

/

Tuxedo Mask and Kunzite both carefully made their way down a corridor in the Negaverse as they attempted to track the sense of an evil power that they had felt in this place once they had come here looking for Sailor Moon. For Tuxedo Mask, the dark energy felt familiar somehow. As if he should be able to recognize it for some reason. Shaking his head, Darien tried to concentrate on the task at hand; finding Sailor Moon.

The two continued with their swords drawn but met no resistance as they searched for the source of the malevolent presence. When they neared a collapses portion of the tunnel both men could tell that they had reached the heart of the negative energy that they had been following. Working together, General Kunzite and Tuxedo Mask moved enough rocks and boulders to squeeze their way into a small alcove of a chamber. Once in the chamber Tuxedo Mask's attention was drawn to what appeared to be broken glass strewn across the floor. He knelt down to pick up a sliver of the crystalline material and frowned as his eyes followed the trail of the glass-like shards to a much larger chunk of the strange stuff. Seeing the large man-sized crystal Tuxedo Mask thought back to his time while brain-washed by the Evil Queen of the Negaverse.

"Jadeite," Tuxedo Mask growled more to himself than anything else but his simple declaration caught Kunzite's attention.

"Jadeite? What makes you think that Jadeite has been here?" Kunzite frowned as he tried to merge the image of the man that he knew as the youngest of the Generals whom always had an impish grin on his lips with that of the man that his ally knew of. To him, it was difficult to think of the fact that he and his fellow Generals' counterparts could be so evil and sadistic. Maybe it was because the Prince Darien of this dimension was so much alike the one back in his own. Of course that may be due to the fact that his Queen had rescued the prince after he had been influenced by Shadow Moon.

"This crystal case was Jadeite's punishment for not getting rid of the Sailor Scouts for Beryl," Tuxedo Mask said then went on to explain the circumstances behind Jadeite's imprisonment and how Queen Beryl had put the fallen General up on display so that all of her minions would see for themselves just what the price of failing would be should they, too, fall short of her expectations.

For Kunzite, the Beryl of this world sounded almost as bad as Shadow Moon had been. He hated to admit it but he was glad that the evil Moon Princess had been destroyed during the Scouts' last encounter with her. Now he just hoped that the Princess of this world would be found safe and sound. Though to be honest, with this latest development, he was concerned for the young woman.

"We should let the others know what we've found," Kunzite said as he examined the encasement that the General had escaped from. "This might change just what kind of an attack we can expect from the Shadows."

"I hate to admit it but you're right," Tuxedo Mask said as he pulled out his communicator. In his mind's eye he could see some of Jadeite's various plans that had nearly succeeded back when Serena had first become Sailor Moon. Of course she was very young still back then and very impressionable. "Jadeite knows how to get to Serena. He's fooled her before. I just hope that he can't do it again."

/

Kyle ran a hand through his blond hair in frustration. He had yet to have any luck with finding Serena but he wasn't going to give up. With every passing minute that he went without hearing something from Serena a gnawing feeling in the pit of his stomach only grew worse. He found her car in the parking lot just outside of the office which meant that this was the last place that his fiancée had been before she suddenly up and vanished. The thing that really got to Kyle was that if it hadn't been for one of the Generals returning to this dimension to warn the Scouts of the energy build-up that they had noticed there was no telling how long Serena could have gone missing unnoticed.

Kyle wouldn't have expected Serena home until late since tonight was supposed to be the night that she would head off to unwind with friends that she had around town. Something that he himself had encouraged her to do considering tonight would be the last chance that she would have gotten the opportunity to relax with the other women before the start of the ski season. Then once the season was fully underway the planning of the last minute details for the wedding was sure to keep Serena busy. It would have been hours before Kyle would have suspected that something was wrong. What could happen in those hours? What might have already happened in the time that had already elapsed since anyone had last seen Serena?

Already Kyle had transformed into his alter-ego in the hopes that he would have a better chance at finding Serena but he couldn't sense her as Sailor Moon anywhere. Somehow, not sensing Serena's power itself made Kyle even more wary of what might had transpired since learning of her disappearance. As Sailor Moon Serena had more power than the remaining Shadows themselves; though Kyle knew that she wouldn't ever horde power alone over an opponent. As Serena, even though Kyle knew that she had been working out with him before he had been injured and alone while he had been regulated to the side-lines, she would be out-numbered if all three Shadows attacked her at once. Of course they also had youmas now to help in that fight as well if the battle in the Throne Room was any indication.

Being torn away from his thoughts, Kyle reached for his communicator as it sounded letting him know that one of the others were trying to contact him. He hoped that it was with good news. As he did so, Kyle felt Serena's power somewhere off in the distance. He couldn't tell just where she was but he could sense her finally. That knowledge was a mixed blessing, however, since he now knew that she was in the middle of a fight. One that might be for her life.

/

After he was satisfied that the dark energy was fully absorbed into the Moon Princess Jadeite returned to the room and informed the women that the other Generals had all been engaged in battle with the other Shadows. From what he could tell, the other Generals had all been defeated and a portal to the Shadows' home dimension had been opened. He assumed to take their prisoners back to their false Queen.

"Kyle and Darien were with the other Generals!" Serena exclaimed at Jadeite's proclamation.

"I'm afraid that they were taken along with the others," Jadeite said almost mournful. "We can still rescue them before anything really bad happens to them but we'll have to move fast before they realize that we know what has happened."

"Jadeite's right. We can't let them get away with this. There's no telling what those heartless women will do to Tuxedo Mask and the Crescent Moon Knight," The Mina look-a-like said from her place beside the Moon Princess.

"I say we go and show those Scouts just what the rest of us are made of," The dark Lita stood and pounded a fist into her other hand and she watched to see what Serena's reaction would be.

For Serena's part she was taken aback slightly since she hadn't thought of the possibility of any of them being taken to the other dimension. Now here she was being told that both Kyle and Darien have been taken captive by the Shadow Scouts right alongside the remaining three Generals. On top of that, the Shadows have been able to seize Queen Beryl's crystal which meant that they had an enormous amount of power on their side now. Something that only her own crystal could be a match for.

Being filled with resolve, Serena stood with purpose, "Let's go show those tramps what happens when you mess with the Sailor Scouts!"

The fiendish five villains could barely contain their excitement as that watched Serena pull out her transformation broach. She was falling for it! The rest began their own transformations and prepared for the next step of their plan. Around Serena, the burst of power from her transformation faded away and left Sailor Moon where Serena had stood only moments before. Around her the Shadows and the lone youma all transformed as well. All of their outfits had been changed slightly to match the colorful bows that the Sailor Scouts had on their own uniforms instead of displaying the dark ones that had been the only discrepancies to separate them from their counterparts.

/

Queen Beryl sat on her throne while studying her crystal ball while she searched for answers on how to handle the situation with the remaining Shadow Scouts. When she had been informed of the massive energy build up in the other dimension she had become very concerned about just what the deviant Scouts had planned for that energy. It had been that worry alone that had allowed her to send General Kunzite to warn those Scouts of the other dimension.

Lost in thought, Beryl had been caught unaware by the sound of blasting outside of the Throne Room's doors. The Queen leaned forward in her seat as guards all scampered to fortify the defenses of the room just as the door burst open with what appeared to be the Shadow Scouts. All five of them but Beryl knew that couldn't be since Shadow Mars had been returned months ago for trial and she had been informed that Shadow Moon had been destroyed in her last encounter with the Sailor Scouts.

"What is the meaning of this?" Beryl asked as she stood in front of her throne.

"It's time set things right!" Sailor Moon said as she and her entourage strolled passed the confounded guards. "You're going to wish you'd never crossed the Sailor Scouts!"

Beryl's eyes widened as the woman that looked just like Shadow Moon stood in front of her with her eyes blazing in a wild fury. Sailor Moon watched as various guards all came running to defend their Queen. Or at least the woman that they believed to be their Queen. Serena reminded herself that most of these people had no clue that their Queen had been replaced by an evil look-a-like.

"Now see here! I don't know what you think that you are doing here but I'll not …"

Sailor Moon narrowed her eyes as the appearance of all of the confirmation that she needed to know that all that she'd been told had been true came running into the Throne Room. There was Prince Darien, ready to defend Beryl just like he had been when he'd been brainwashed by the real evil Queen. If he was willing to fight for Beryl again then it had to mean that the Shadows had already been able to wipe his memories once more. Glancing around briefly, Sailor Moon checked to see if she could spy Kyle anywhere as well. She couldn't but that didn't mean that he wasn't around here too. Not if Darien was here.

"Stand back my Queen," Prince Darien said as he drew his sword to protect the ruler of the Light Kingdom.

Sailor Moon watched as Prince Darien moved to act as a human shield for the one that she had come to destroy; much in the same way as he had years before. Back when it had been the Queen of their own dimension that had sought to destroy all that was good in the world.

"Step aside Darien. I'm not here to fight you!" Sailor Moon shouted as the Scouts behind her moved to prepare to fight.

"He's under a spell, Sailor Moon," Shadow Jupiter said as she stood beside the Moon Princess. "We're going to have to fight him. There's no getting around it."

Tightening her fist, Sailor Moon knew that her comrade was right. She knew that if the Shadows had used the Moon Crystal to cast their spell then there would be nothing that she could do or say to snap her ex-boyfriend out of the magical stupor that he'd been put into. That meant that she could only do one thing; fight.


	67. Becoming Your Own Worst Enemy

Kunzite frowned as he heard the voice of his Queen calling out to him in his mind. "We have a problem."

"Another one?" Tuxedo Mask asked wearily.

"Yes," Kunzite nodded. "I know where Sailor Moon is. She, along with the remaining Shadows, has just stormed the palace and is attacking it."

"That doesn't sound like Sailor Moon," Tuxedo Mask said in the heroine's defense. "Something must be wrong. There is no way that she would go on the offensive like that for no reason."

"That may be but the fact remains; she is leading an attack on the palace. I have to go," Kunzite said as he prepared to create a portal to his own dimension.

"Wait, we should contact the others. We'll need them to help talk to Serena."

Kunzite looked hard at his companion before nodding. Yes, they just might need the other Scouts if Sailor Moon was truly as powerful, if not more so, than Shadow Moon had been. "Just hurry."

/

Sailor Moon brought up her Heart Moon Rod and used it to deflect Prince Darien's sword. He fought fiercely in defense of his Queen which made Sailor Moon glad that she had trained with Kyle since the early part of the summer. Doing so had increased her own fighting abilities considerably. Which was now coming in handy since she had no intention of ending up sprawled across the floor in a defeated heap. Not this time. The cost of failure was just too high; Sailor Moon will not fail. Around her, Sailor Moon barely registered the fact that her Scouts were now fighting against the various guards that had come to defend their false Queen.

Shaking her head to keep herself on task, Sailor Moon renewed her vigor for her attack. She couldn't expect her Scouts to fight their hardest if she wasn't willing to do the same. Sailor Moon raised her weapon to block Prince Darien's sword once more as he brought it down with a vengeance. Sailor Moon continued her battle with her brainwashed ally as her muscles began to protest the strenuous workout. Meanwhile she fought to make her way past the Prince toward the false Queen that even now was sitting on the throne behind Darien and her guards that had rushed into the Throne Room to defend against the intruders. It was when Sailor Moon noticed some of those that had come to fight looked familiar that she got her second wind; determined to stop the Shadow Scouts. Even now she could see her opponents racing forward to block her from attacking the stooge that they had placed on the throne.

"Sailor Moon!" Mercury could be heard calling out to her from the other end of the room. "Don't do this!"

Sailor Moon drew on her inner strength and sent Prince Darien flying across the floor. It was then that she thought that she was seeing double. Well, sort of. Coming up behind the Scouts along with Kunzite was Tuxedo Mask. She knew that since there had been a double of each of the Scouts and Generals it only stood to reason that there would have been a double for Darien as well. Of course he would be helping the Shadows. What Sailor Moon hadn't figured on was that the Shadows would have already converted Kunzite. If he had been brainwashed already then she could only assume that Jadeite was the only General that she could now trust.

"Sailor Moon, you have to stop this!" Tuxedo Mask shouted as he bound into the Throne room. "You've made a horrible mistake!"

"Don't listen to him!" Shadow Venus shouted from behind Sailor Moon. "He's just trying to confuse you!"

"I know he is," Sailor Moon replied through gritted teeth.

"Sailor Moon, we better do this now!" Shadow Jupiter shouted fearing that if they didn't get the rest of the plan underway in a hurry that one of the other Scouts would ruin things for them now with Sailor Moon.

"Right!" Sailor Moon pulled her crystal out and called to it's power as the Shadows used their own powers to re-enforce the crystal's strength.

"What is she doing?" Sailor Mars shouted as she and the other Scouts watched helplessly as their leader was surrounded by a dark power that was even now combining with the Moon Crystal's power. "Serena! Listen!" Mars raised her arms up as she was knocked with a blast of power. Looking up, Mars saw Jadeite standing behind the Shadows with a sinister grin.

"Call to the other Generals and tell them to hurry!" Kunzite ordered a guard nearby. He couldn't believe that the others hadn't already responded to the call to arms by the time that he had arrived with their other-dimensional allies.

"Aye, Sir."

Kunzite called to his own power to prepare to return the attack that was being directed at his Queen but was stopped short by Tuxedo Mask's outrage.

"No! You can't! She doesn't know what she's doing!"

"She has to be stopped. I can not allow her to continue this attack!" Kunzite growled as he paused in his power gathering. "She can destroy us all!"

"She won't!" Tuxedo Mask said in defense of his former girlfriend only to be cut off as he, along with all of those that surrounded him, were thrown backwards by a large energy burst.

Sailor Moon's crystal had begun to emit a huge force field that was re-enforced by the powers of Shadows Jupiter, Mercury and Venus. In addition, the evil Jadeite added his own powers to the fray along with the youma that was masquerading as Sailor Mars. The Scouts' eyes all went wide as they each noticed another energy field forming. This time from behind them.

Queen Beryl had her own magical crystal in hand and was calling upon it's power in preparation of battling against the intruders to her kingdom. Beryl didn't know what had possessed the Moon Princess of the other dimension to attack her here in her own palace but she could not allow her to destroy all of those that she was sworn to protect. She called on Kunzite's powers to join her own and worked to deflect the other Moon Crystal's power.

As Beryl directed her concentrated power toward the young woman and those behind her, Beryl could sense the determination radiating from each of the warriors that had come to seize her power. Especially from Sailor Moon. Her determination came from a righteous anger where as the others' anger came from a darker depth within their hearts. Beryl listened as the Sailor Scouts each called out to their leader as they tried to convince her of their identities to no avail. Meanwhile, Zoisite and Nephrite had joined Kunzite in helping her re-enforce her own energy field. With a bitter acknowledgement, Beryl feared what she would have to do if the Scouts could not call off Sailor Moon. After all, when it all came down to it, she could not allow the Shadows to maintain control of either Moon Crystal. They will destroy this dimension as well as the other one if given the opportunity. For that reason and that reason alone Beryl knew that if she was given no other choice that she would have to do what is necessary.

/

Jadeite looked up as he and the last remaining ally from the other side were the last to return to the Light Kingdom after Beryl had sent out a call to all of her Generals. Jadeite had volunteered to retrieve The Crescent Moon Knight while Kunzite and Tuxedo Mask took the Scouts along with them to answer Beryl's plea for help. Jadeite could hear his Queen crying out for all of her generals and soldiers in his mind and could hear the desperation in her voice.

"We must hurry," Jadeite encouraged his companion as they raced the corridors toward the Throne room. "Something is terribly wrong."

"What is it?" The Moon Knight asked in concern. "What's going on?"

"It's Sailor Moon... She's attacking the Queen!"

Kyle's eyes widened as he heard what his fiancée was doing even as he and the General were racing toward where she was. "Attacking? But why?"

"I don't know," Jadeite shook his head. "All I know is that she and the Shadows are all there and Queen Beryl has sent out a distress call."

Frowning at the news, both men raced toward the heart of the battle that was raging within the Throne Room. When The Crescent Moon Knight finally made his way through the chaos of the guards clamoring to defend their Queen he could not believe his eyes. Sailor Moon had transformed into the Princess but this time there seemed to be something different about her. The dark aura from the Shadow's powers were fused with her own. As a result, the very appearance of Serena was slowly morphing. Her gown had gone from being a snowy white to a drab grayish color that was growing darker by the moment. Even Serena's silvery-blond hair was darkening as she and Beryl faced off against one another.

"Serena," Kyle whispered under his breath.

Behind him, he could hear Jadeite's own exclamation as he was faced with the image of his own double. The Generals had all heard of their counterparts from the other dimension but he had been under the impression that all of them were dead. Defeated by the Sailor Scouts or killed by their own Queen Beryl in a fit of rage. Now, here in the Throne Room, Jadeite witnessed first hand the evil that his double could do as he lent his dark power to the Shadows and Sailor Moon.

"Sailors! I need your strength!" Queen Beryl pleaded as she sensed that she and Sailor Moon were fairly equally matched but her own power was not as strong as Sailor Moon's. Perhaps it was because they had not faced the same opponents to grow her own power.

The Shadows' powers worked much in the same way that her Generals' powers did in amplifying the crystals' powers. Around her she could still hear her allies pleading with their leader; desperately hoping that she would stop her attack now before they would be forced to fight against their friend, ally, and leader. As the Queen called out Sailor Moon sent forth a fresh wave of enormous power, sending the Queen off balance. Reluctantly, the Sailor Scouts added their own power to aide the Queen. They regretted doing so but they had no choice. If they didn't Sailor Moon and the Shadows would destroy all of them. Now, with their powers added to join Beryl and her Generals' powers, the two sides were once more at a stalemate.

"Sailor Moon!" The Crescent Moon Knight watched in horror as the Scouts were resigned to defend the cause of good, regardless of the cost. Looking into her eyes, he doubted that she could hear him or the others. The dark shroud had nearly completely consumed her, he could not see any light in her eyes. "Sailor Moon, look at me!"

The only response to the knight's cries was a dark bolt of lightening arcing from the energy force field aim directly at him. He brought his sword up to absorb the bolt but could not bring himself to deflect it back to it's source. Instead the knight of the moon searched for a new target and found it. Looking back behind him then returning his gaze toward his new found adversary he hoped that he had a way to jog some portion that was left of Serena's mind so that she would see that something wasn't right.

"Jadeite," Kyle called to the young man behind him that was still trying to get a grasp on the fact that he was watching his twin turn the Moon Princess toward the forces of darkness without ever realizing it. "We need to separate our friend there from the rest. Get Sailor Moon to seeing double. She'll have to notice that there shouldn't be two of you."

"Will that be enough to get her to stop?"

"I don't know but we have to try," Was the only response that The Crescent Moon Knight could give. If nothing else he could hope that it would give Serena a reason to pause in her attack. Thus giving the rest an opportunity to talk her down.

/

Sailor Moon watched as everything around her took on a dark appearance; as if the whole room was cloaked in a dark shadow. The Shadows must be calling upon an awful lot of energy to darken the whole room. She knew that she had to draw on her own powers to fight back the power that the Shadows' replacement Queen was sending her way. Every time that she felt their power grow stronger she and her Scouts redoubled their own efforts to fight off her enemies. Still, despite her best efforts, the darkness in the room was so thick that she could barely see through blanketed shadow that the dark power had created. Shadows. Yes that's all that they were now to her; merely shadows in the darkness.

That stifling blanket of shadow had even begun to muffle the sounds of the battle that raged around her. From time to time she could hear her name being called out but all that came afterwards just faded away. Drawing on the crystal's power, Sailor Moon sent a fresh wave against her opponents with a strong sense that she had to win this fight. If she failed here she would cease to exist. She didn't know how she knew that but she did. There would be no coming back at the end of this battle. She would win or die once and for all.

After Sailor Moon and the Scouts behind her sent their burst of power, Sailor Moon was greeted by a sliver of light making it's way through the nearly impenetrable darkness. Within that small portion of light Sailor Moon could see what appeared to be her fiancé and he was standing beside of Jadeite. Jadeite? What was he doing over there? Wasn't he still standing behind her and her Scouts? Sailor Moon glaced back behind her in confusion. No, he was still there. But how could that be? How could their be two Jadeites? After all, the Queen of the Negaverse had killed the Jadeite of her own dimension hadn't she? This had to be some kind of trick.

From within the sliver of light, Sailor Moon saw both the men that were illuminated by the light radiating from the Crescent Moon Knight's sword as he directed an energy blast in what appeared to be her direction. The blast by-passed her, however, and struck the Jadeite behind her. That resulted in the man having to pull his own power reserve away from the Scouts that he had come to fight along-side of. He separated himself from the four women and one youma; leaving them to battle the Queen and her protectors while he set his sights on the two men that had singled him out.

The evil Jadeite sent a powerful blast toward his match and his companion in arms. As he did so The Crescent Moon Knight raised his sword to absorb he energy before returning it along with the energy that the Jadeite that was his ally added to it in an effort to defeat the evil man. Sailor Moon then witnessed her Jadeite gathering as much power as he could muster only to send it directly at his twin. She then saw the man that looked like her fiancé leap in front of the other man; bringing his shield up to protect them both as he did so.

That was when she saw it. As Sailor Moon looked at the shield it reflected her own image back at her which caused her to falter. There in that brief glimpse of her reflection she saw someone that she could not recognize. Looking down at herself, Serena saw that what she has seen had been no trick of the light. Her gown had darkened along with her hair to a dark ebony black. What she couldn't understand was how this could happen? Pulling back in uncertainty, Serena looked back to the Scouts behind her.

"What do you think you're doing?" Jupiter asked in frustration. They were so close, too close for Sailor Moon to pull back now.

"I don't understand... What's going on?"

"We'll discuss this later!" Shadow Venus shouted. "We can't afford to loose sight of what we're doing here right now!"

Tuxedo Masked noticed that Serena was no longer as sure about her position as she had been before and called to her. She heard his voice through the blanket of darkness and turned toward him and saw the pleading in his eyes.

"Don't listen to him!" Shadow Mercury cried as she could feel their hold on the Moon Princess weakening. All the while wondering how she and the Shadows had lost control of Sailor Moon. "It's a trick!"

"She's right, Serena!" Tuxedo Mask called back. "All of this is a trick. One that they've played on you to get you to attack the Light Kingdom!"

"Listen to him! He's telling you the truth!" Kyle added his own cry to his fiancée. "I don't know what they've told you but this kind of an attack isn't right; it isn't you!"

Serena locked eyes with him as he spoke. This was her Knight that had been there for her for the last year. There was no way that he'd been brainwashed in the way that she had feared had happened to Tuxedo Mask. But if that was true then that meant that she had been duped. Her enemies were not in front of her; rather they were behind her. They had convinced her to storm the palace and attack all of these innocent people. They had caused her to become what she had always fought against. With eyes flashing in anger, Serena called to the crystal's power to reverse itself. Drawing it away from those that she had attacked with her power, Princess Serena made up her mind that she could not allow her power to destroy all of those that she held dearest to her.

The Crescent Moon Knight and the others all were surprised as the dark power along with all of the Moon Crystal's power drew away from them. Instead it returned toward the crystal that their leader and loved one was holding at an incredible speed. At a speed that Kyle didn't think that the crystal could keep up with the energy while it reabsorbed it. Added to that, Queen Beryl's own crystal's power was suddenly no longer facing any resistance which caused the energy field created by her Imperium Silver Moon Crystal to advance and surround Sailor Moon along with the evil Jadeite and Shadow Scouts.

"NO!" Kyle wasn't sure if it had been him or one of the others that shouted out upon seeing Serena being engulfed by the massive energy ball. Perhaps they had all cried out in unison. All Kyle knew was that when the light faded and the room returned to normal she was gone. There was not a single sign of Serena. Not even a hair was left behind.


	68. Facing the Consequences of Defying Fate

When Serena began to come to she felt as if she was floating. Caught somewhere between Heaven and Earth. When she opened her eyes she found that she was in the same limbo that she had come to in times previously after various battles. It was the place that she could speak with Queen Serenity after particularly difficult battles before returning to finish off what ever evil had taken her down so low that she hadn't thought that she could ever see the light of day again. It was usually such a comforting place. Not this time, however. Serena sat up among the clouds and fog that were her only covering and listened as what sounded like a heated debate was going on just out of her line of sight.

"I'm sorry, Serenity. But that is the price for her actions. I'll not change my mind," A deep male voice boomed to which Serena then heard Queen Serenity reply.

"She only made a mistake. She thought that she was doing the right thing."

"How many others over the centuries upheld their own actions with the fact that they, too, thought that they were fighting on the right side?" A second female's voice spoke softly. "I'm sorry, but she was supposed to have been Earths greatest champion. Instead she nearly destroyed the other dimension. We will be working for along time trying to repair the damage to time and space that occurred when the two crystals were used against one another."

"One mistake cannot cancel out all of the good that she's already done!" Serenity exclaimed. "There must be some other alternative!"

Serena waited as a long silence followed her mother from her previous life's plea. She had no clue who the other voices were but by the sound of it they were in support of handing out some sort of punishment to Serena for her attack on the Light Kingdom. Hanging her head she couldn't believe that she had fallen for the ruse so easily. That she had trusted so easily; too easily. Now she was left here wondering just how they had pulled it off while at the same time wondering what the consequences would be for her. Straining to hear, Serena could tell that the debate over her fate had resumed but the voices were no longer as loud as they had been. Instead they were merely muffles that droned on for what seemed like forever. Finally she could once more hear bits and pieces of the conversation.

"Why should we do as you suggest?" Came the man's voice once again. He sounded irritated to Serena.

"Because if you don't then the futures of the others just might be affected more than it would if you do," Serenity insisted. "Ask the Fates, all of their life-lines are intertwined with Serena's. If she is not returned they may no longer have the desire to continue their fight against the forces of darkness. There are still battles to be fought."

"But after this debacle we can not allow the power of Sailor Moon to be returned to Earth. Not right now."

"But that doesn't mean that you can not return Serena." Serena bit her lip as she listened to her mother plead her case to these unknown deities.

"That is an interesting proposition. You propose that we return your daughter back to Earth without her powers. Not just dormant as they had remained in the past but without them at all?" A woman's voice came from a distance as if she found the suggestion intriguing.

"If it would save her life," Serenity affirmed.

"We will consider your thoughts on the matter," The man informed the former Queen after a moment's consideration. "We shall return once we've made our decision."

Around Serena she could feel the presence of the deities leave. She wasn't sure if she should be relieved or not. Because now she could not even hear the debate over her fate. She could do nothing now but worry.

/

Queen Beryl hung her head in sorrow as she watched the Sailor Scouts and the two men that fought beside them all began to mourn for their fallen leader. She knew that the young woman had not meant any malice on her own. Sailor Moon had merely fallen victim to trusting the wrong people. Queen Beryl had tried to retract her power that had joined in with the power of the other crystal but she hadn't been able to do so fast enough. Still, she knew that even without her own power added to the energy field that had reversed on itself, there would have been no way for Sailor Moon to survive.

Not being able to find anything to say to any of the ones who were grieving, Beryl turned sadly toward her head General and told him to return them to their own dimension once they were ready to leave. She then retreated to the privacy of her own chambers and mourned for the young woman that she had not gotten a chance to meet under better circumstances.

Meanwhile Kyle stood numb to the fact that his love, of both this life and his life on the Moon, was now gone. Was it a curse? Was there a reason that the Fates continually brought him back to a life where he was doomed to ultimately be alone in the end? First he had remained alone out of a sense of being noble. Serena hadn't loved him in the same way that he had her so he had let his love for her go unrequited. Then he had come to Earth as Sir Galahad. Sure he'd lived a life that to this day was told in legends. But he had lived and died once more without ever knowing a lover's touch or warm embrace. Now here he had been so close to marrying Serena, their wedding only mere weeks away, and she had been taken from him and all who loved her.

Kyle felt his transformation fade away and stood looking at the place that Serena had been only moments before; not being able to move. Around him each of the others also remained stunned. After all of the battles that they have faced over the years no one had ever pictured this outcome. Sure the rest of them had given their own lives for the greater good in the past but Serena had always been able to bring them back after the fact. Now Serena had given her all to correct her mistake of believing the wrong people and there was no way to bring her back. She was lost to them all.

Tuxedo Mask clenched his fists as he glanced behind him. He could tell that the Generals were trying to be patient while waiting for them to be able to pull themselves away from the spot that they had last seen Serena. He had no idea just how long they had been here but by judging by the fact that all of those that had gathered into the Throne Room for the battle were now gone (with the exception of the four Generals and Prince Darien) Tuxedo Mask supposed that it had been quite some time.

"We should go," Sailor Venus finally said while assuming the role of leadership in the chaos left behind by Sailor Moon's absence. She had always known that it was her ultimate responsibility to look after the Scouts, having had that role for multiple life-times. Venus had even taken over the role while Serena had gone missing a year ago. Doing so now was different. Now she knew that Serena wasn't coming back. This wouldn't be just for a short time. This will be permanent. "There's nothing left for us to do here."

Venus took a step toward the Generals and waited for the others to join her. Sadly, the other women began to follow their friend one by one. The two men were more resistant to the idea of leaving just yet. Both remained glued in place still staring at the place where Serena had been standing when she had been enveloped by the power of both moon crystals.

"Guys?" Venus prodded softly. "Are you coming?"

Tuxedo Mask swallowed the large lump in his throat as he nodded. He then placed a hand on Kyle's shoulder as a gesture of support. "She's right. We have to go."

Kyle gave a deep sigh. They could make him leave but he knew that his heart would not follow. It had always been tied to Serena in every lifetime; if Serena was now dead then he knew that the best part of himself, too, was gone from this life. He may be standing here, he may continue with living in some form or another, but his life was now over. Kyle would from now on live as a hollow shell.

Feeling the slight pressure on his shoulder telling him that it was time to go, Kyle slowly took a step backwards toward his comrades. Even in defeat, knowing that he had to leave, Kyle couldn't turn his back on the last place that Serena would ever be seen. After taking another step back Kyle caught a glint of light, or at least he thought that he had, in the dull stone floor that marked where Serena had been standing.

"Wait," Kyle said as he pulled away from the hand that was resting on his shoulder. "Did you see that?"

Tuxedo Mask's brow creased, "See what?"

"That light! It has to be Serena..."

"Kyle, I don't see anything," Tuxedo Mask said after squinting while studying the room. "You're just seeing things."

"I know what I saw! And I'm not leaving!" Kyle turned toward the others suddenly feeling appalled that he had been about to leave so quickly without looking for a way to get his fiancée back.

"Kyle..."

"NO!" Kyle cut the other man off with his eyes flashing. "If you want to leave then go! I'm staying! I KNOW she's still alive and I'm going to prove it."

/

Serena lost time as she waited for the voices to return. When she was in this place she could never tell if she had been here only a moment in time or if days, weeks, or even months had past while she was here. Now Serena felt that she was no longer alone she looked up to see Queen Serenity approaching her through the clouds and fog.

"Mother," Serena stood to face the ancient Queen.

"Serena, we need to talk." Serenity came closer and reached out to pull her daughter to her as they were both surrounded by a thick layer of clouds.

"It's about what happened in the Throne Room, isn't it?" Serena had gathered that much by listening to the voices from earlier. "About me helping the Shadows?"

"I'm afraid so," Serenity confirmed. "I know that you never would have knowingly aided them, but the fact remains that you did. Queen Beryl's kingdom in the other dimension was nearly torn apart from the effects of both Imperium Silver Moon Crystals being used against one another."

Serena lowered her eyed in shame before asking, "Who were those other people that you were arguing with earlier?"

"You heard all of that?"

"Most of it," Serena nodded. "There was something about a punishment..."

Serenity took a deep and slow breath then released it in a measured manner. "Yes. Those voices that you heard belonged to Aether, Ananke and Phoebe. They are ancient deities that date back to even before the Olympians." Serenity then shook her head to get herself back on track. "Anyway, I'll have to tell you that there were a lot of people up here that were upset when you changed your destiny. When you struck out on your own last year…"

"But I …"

"I know why you did it, Serena. I'm not angry with you," Serenity responded to her daughter's eagerness to explain her actions. "If I had been I would have told you long ago. You had two roads laid out before you and you decided on one path rather than another. By doing so, you have been able to grow in a way that you never would have without Kyle." Serena lowered her eyes, nearly blushing as she accepted the fact that she could have never seen herself in the same stage of growth without her fiancé. "Now, I love Kyle and can't say that I'm sorry for the changes that you've made in the last year but I can't speak for everyone else up here."

"I don't see why me being with Kyle should have been anyone else's business." Serena could feel herself growing agitated at the fact that so many other people felt that her private life was up for debate.

"That's the price of being Royalty, I'm afraid." Serenity gave her daughter a smile as she steered her toward a bench nearby after she conjured it. "But that's not what they were arguing over just now. Serena, the others have decided that your actions today were the last straw. They will not ignore any further deviation from the destiny that they have laid out for the powers of Sailor Moon."

"What does that mean?" Serena asked worriedly.

"They've decided, that in order to prevent you from doing anything that will interfere with as you must in your future life, that drastic measures must be taken in this life." Serenity took a swallow to fight down the lump in her throat.

"They've decided to not send me back this time; haven't they?" Serena had the feeling during the battle that if she was to die that it would be the end of her. Now it seemed that her intuition on that matter had been right.

"That was their first decision," Serenity confirmed for her daughter. "But I was able to get them to agree to an alternative."

"What kind of alternative?"

"There's a way to preserve your future destiny while allowing you to continue to live out this life in the way that you began more than one year ago," Serena listened to her mother in a bit of confusion. "When you left out from Tokyo on that bus and made your way toward the town that you would eventually find Kyle, you decided to turn your back on being Sailor Moon and struck out to find your own destiny. A future that didn't include being Sailor Moon or being the Princess of the Moon any longer."

"But I did return to Tokyo to help with the Shadows eventually!" Serena said in her defense. Even if fighting the Shadows hadn't really been something that she had relished doing. She had wanted to maintain a life separate from being Sailor Moon; instead of doing so she had drug Kyle into the fight as well.

"I know. But now that it has been decided that the Silver Moon Crystal can no longer be allowed to remain in this time period, it has been sent to your future self. Now, there is still the issue as to what will happen in this lifetime." Serenity braced herself for Serena's potential reaction to the arrangement that she had made with the Elders of the Cosmos. "I've asked that you still be allowed to continue with your life; to be sent back only this time without your ability to become Sailor Moon."

"No more Sailor Moon?" Serena eyed the Queen as she considered what she was being told. It was one thing to decide that she didn't want to be Sailor Moon any longer but another being told that she would no longer be allowed to transform into the heroine any longer.

"That's right. Now this doesn't mean that there will no longer be any threats to Earth; only that you will no longer be allowed to aid the other Scouts when they face them," Serenity pointed out.

"And these Elders…They've agreed to this?"

"Well, as I mentioned to them earlier, your permanent absence would likely remove their desire to fight against the forces of Evil. This was the best compromise that I could arrange. You and Kyle will still be allowed to marry," Serena couldn't help the look that crossed her face as the mere mention of being ALLOWED to marry the man that she loved was a gift. "Only you will no longer be Sailor Moon. Then once it is time for your next incarnation your memories will only be returned to you to the point where Chaos was defeated. Every memory after that will be lost to you in your next life."

"So it will be as if Kyle and I never met?"

"That, along with the fact that it will be as if you've never decided to give up your powers as you did when you left home last year," Serenity leaned back as she waited for Serena to digest what she was being told.

"You said something about the others needing to fight… There are other threats coming?" Serena hated the idea of the others having to fight while she would no longer be there to help them face what ever evil would be trying to attack Earth and those that lived there. "But if I won't have the Moon Crystal anymore how will they be able to face them? Will they be able to defeat them?"

"I cannot tell you too much about what the future in this life holds," Serenity shook her head. "You know too much of the future as it is. Now, you can decide to decline this chance to go back. You could instead agree to have your soul put back into stasis for the next millennia or you could return to Earth now under these conditions. But I will need your answer. Can you face life watching those that you love fighting against evil without being able to help them or do you wish to avoid that fate and continue with your destiny of being the Future Neo-Queen Serenity? Wait in a moment in time while the others join you before being awakened in the future?"

Serena bit her lip as she thought about watching Mina, Lita, Rei and Ami fighting the battles that she should be fighting as well. Then of course that meant that that Darien and Kyle would continue to fight against the forces of darkness, too, wouldn't it? Could she watch everyone that she cared about going off to battle while being delegated to the sidelines?

/

"Kyle," Sailor Mercury said timidly. "There really isn't anything that we can do from here. We all saw what happened to Serena…"

"Just go, Mercury. If you think that then just go," Kyle told her just a bit more softly than he had replied to Tuxedo Mask. "But I know that Serena wouldn't have given up on any of you. She would have held out some sort of hope for you until she was given proof that you weren't coming back."

Each of the Scouts exchanged looks with one another; partly in shame at the truth of the statement, partly in sadness with the fact that they couldn't bring themselves to hold onto a hope that they deemed far-fetched. Finally, Venus once more took the lead and led the group toward the Generals again.

Kyle turned his back on the five as they each began to leave him behind. As he did so, he began to walk in the direction of where Serena had last been just before the crystals' powers had engulfed her. He refused to believe that Serena was gone. After all, if they had been connected for so many centuries, shouldn't he be able to feel it if she was truly gone? Instead he felt with his whole heart that Serena was still alive. He just had no way to reach her where ever she had been taken after she had disappeared. Swallowing, Kyle wondered if he was deluding himself with the belief that he should be able to sense her. That was until he finally stood in the spot that Serena had disappeared from. Once in that spot, Kyle was suddenly filled with a sense of enormous hope. He not only believed that Serena was alive; he knew that she was.

"Serena?" Kyle looked up sharply as he could almost feel her presence.

"Kyle…" Jupiter hated seeing the man like this. It was like watching Serena all over again when she had believed that Kyle had been killed after the last battle with Shadow Moon.

"She's here," Kyle insisted. "She's coming back."

"Kyle, you know that isn't possible." Jupiter wished that she could believe that her friend was alright but they had all seen with their own eyes what all had transpired here in this very room not more than an hour ago. "I don't want to believe that she's gone either but…"

On the floor just at Kyle's feet, the appearance of a crescent shaped light began to slowly expand. Kyle took only a step away as the pin-point of light grew from a single point of light to one large enough for a person to stand in that light. Kyle's eyes grew as large as saucers as he then looked down into the bright light and saw what looked as if someone was approaching through the blinding light.

From across the room each of the Scouts, along with the men that were standing with them, all watched as the light shot up from the floor. When an individual could be seen slowly ascending from the pool of light there was a collective gasp as they each held their breath as one. Gradually, the blinding light expanded to the point where none of them could look over where Kyle had been standing when the phenomenon had begun. The Scouts stood with open mouths, staring in amazement and disbelief as the room returned to normal and revealed that Kyle was no longer alone in the center of the room. Instead, Serena was standing alongside him; both were in their civilian clothing. She was now wrapped in a tight embrace with her fiancé, neither of whom looked too willing to release the other just yet. After just a moment to take in the sight of their friend that they had thought that they'd never see again, the Scouts all ran forward and surrounded Serena in an eager hurry.

Serena was back; right now that is all that they cared about.


	69. Finding the Path to Happiness

Darien leaned against the rail as he stared out over the bridge that he often came to when he felt the need to thing. Looking out across the water, Darien thought over all of the changes that had happened in less than two years. In that time he had gone from believing that he knew exactly what was in store for himself and his (at that time) girlfriend to not having a clue what to expect next. After all, Serena was not only about to marry another man but had also recently had her powers stripped; something that he still couldn't get over. How could the powers that be allow for either of those things to happen? Still, taking Serena's inability to become Sailor Moon apparently was the price for her choice to defy destiny. A high cost indeed. Letting out a sigh, Darien watched the water beneath the bridge slowly move with the tide. The water moving in a hypnotic manner, Darien soon found himself under its spell.

Among the ripples of the water images of tall white pillars began to form as a regal figure began to take shape within the waterway's reflection. Darien squinted his eyes as the figure began to become clearer. He'd seen this person before but it was never easy to come face to face with the image of himself in another time. This man had haunted his dreams with cryptic messages yet never once gave him any warning that the future that he'd seen was not to be his. Well, not really; his in another lifetime but not in this one. Darien glared at his doppelganger and threw out his question of why. Why had he not told him that this day would be coming? Surely he had deserved a warning so that he could have prepared himself. So that he wouldn't have based his life on a lie.

"There was a lesson that we needed to learn," the King of the Earth replied simply.

"A lesson?" Darien couldn't hold back the venom as he felt that his future self seemed to be treating him as a child. "And just WHAT would that lesson be? That I end up being some cryptic bastard that won't speak clearly; even to myself?"

"The lesson was, sometimes you don't truly appreciate someone until they are gone," the King said sadly. "I dare say you'll not take the people in your life for granted again."

"If you had just told me what was going to happen I COULD have done something differently." Darien clenched his fist tightly as he stared at his reflection.

"But WOULD you have?" came the response from the watery portal. "Remember, I know you as well as you know yourself. I AM you. Once you saw how your destiny was laid out so far out into the future you became very comfortable in your position; never even dreaming that there was more that you hadn't seen yet. But just because you know the ultimate destination at the end of the road does not mean that you know where every pot-hole and detour along the way are. During this time of your lives you will travel the similar roads yet will be separate. It is through this that you will learn to navigate together in a time that your paths will once more cross."

Later Darien sat on his couch thinking over all that the King had told him while not sure what to do about the fact that Serena was scheduled to get married tomorrow. It took everything in him to not plan to barge into church and publicly object to the union that he still had a hard time accepting. The wiser part of himself though knew that to do such a thing would only show him to be a fool.

Maybe it would have been easier if the man that had stolen Serena's heart was obviously not good enough for her. Not that he'd ever want to see her mistreated but if she was then he could feel justified in fighting this relationship that seemed to make Serena happier than he had ever made her. Then Darien could tell himself that he was rescuing her just the same way he always has. This time it was just from a different kind of enemy. Instead Darien was well aware of the fact Kyle was very good to her. He had been exactly what she had needed in both lifetimes. He had supported Serena during her time of trying to find herself when she had felt lost and had continued to be there for her even after Serena had been stripped of her powers.

So what was he to do now? Now that Serena didn't seem to need him to protect her from her; not only from her own choices but from the forces of Darkness. After all, now that she was no longer Sailor Moon nor did she possess the Moon Crystal she quite likely would no longer show up on any potential enemy's radar. So didn't that mean that Serena was free to be happy with her new life? Shouldn't he be glad that she now had that opportunity? After all, if you truly love someone would you only want them happy so long as they are with you? Would it not be selfish to only want her happy if she was with him?

Letting out a sigh, Darien knew that he'd already answered his own questions. He just needed to accept them.

/

Serena Tsukino stared at her reflection nearly giddy that the day of her wedding had finally arrived. So much had happened since Kyle had first proposed. She had gone from not wanting to think on her life as Sailor Moon to having to go back and fight against an Evil that had been unlike any that she and the other Scouts had ever fought. Then Kyle had been given powers to help her and the others fight only for Serena's powers to be taken away by the Cosmic Elders. The only thing that hadn't changed during all of that time was the fact that Serena never once doubted that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Kyle Garret.

Sitting in front of her vanity, Serena could hear her friends that had come to help her get ready for her wedding just behind her as they chattered about the upcoming events of the day. Molly, being her Maid of Honor, had been put in charge of the other women as they all prepared for their roles in the ceremony. Serena got a bit of a charge watching as the last minute details were attended to as she was literally faced with the last few moments of single life. In less than an hour she would be a married woman. That fact alone seemed a bit surreal. Married. That word brought a huge smile to her lips.

"Serena, now that we have your make-up done, it's time to finish with your hair." Mina came over to the vanity and went to work primping Serena's hair. Fashion was after all her expertise. Mina began to set Serena's hair and wove small pink flowers in among the blond strains. "You just leave everything to me. You'll be the best looking bride that's ever been."

Serena giggled as the Scout of Love went to work on her hair. Meanwhile the others were finishing up the last minute details to their own hair and make-up as they all chattered away about the upcoming event of the day. Mina had just finished with Serena's hair when there was a knock on the door leading to the dressing room that the six young women were preparing in.

"Serena," Ikuko came into the room wearing a dress that was very similar to the shade of pale pink that all of the bride's maids were wearing carrying a vase with a single red rose and a card attached to the bloom. "This was left for you."

Serena turned toward her mother and took the vase from her and read the short note that had come with the single bloom. It was very short. It only read:

**_Serena, be happy._ **

**_Love,_ **

**_Darien_ **

"Who's it from?" Lita asked out of curiosity.

Serena didn't know if she should smile or cry at the simple message that had come with the rose. Fighting back a little of both she handed the card to her friend and let her read it for herself. The very fact that Darien, her one time love, had even sent the small token on her wedding day surprised her. She knew that her marrying Kyle was not easy for him to accept but these simple words meant a lot to her. Serena only hoped that he too could be happy.

Surely if there was another heart that had been made to fit her own then there must be one for Darien. Serena hoped that he would find that heart someday so that he would not spend a lifetime alone watching a love that could not be from afar. Much in the way Kyle had done in his previous life. This was not the time for her and Darien to be together but they did already know when that time was to be. Even so, Serena did truly want Darien to be as happy as she was now.


End file.
